N-Heterocyclic Silylenes in Boron Chemistry: Facile Formation of Silylboranes and Silaborinines

Reaction of a N-heterocyclic silylene (NHSi) with PhBX2 (X=Cl, Br) readily afforded six-membered silaborinines through an insertion/ring expansion sequence. Increasing the sterics of the borane from phenyl to duryl enabled the selective generation and isolation of the highly colored silylborane intermediates. Theoretical studies on the mechanism and energetics of the silaborinine formation were fully consistent with the experimental observations.