Alkyne and ketone induced novel cleavage of a C-C bond and a C-Si bond in zirconacyclobutene-silacyclobutene fused ring compounds

Novel cleavage patterns of C-C bonds and C-Si bonds were achieved via alkyne- or ketone-induced reactions of zirconacyclobutene-silacyclobutene fused ring compounds; thermodynamically favored six-membered zirconacyclohexadiene derivatives were formed in excellent yields from the four-membered zirconacyclobutenes via this unprecedented alkyne-induced C-C bond and C-Si bond cleavage process. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.