Synthetic development and chemical reactivity of transition-metal silylene complexes

A variety of transition-metal complexes with terminal silylene ligands have become available in recent years, because of the discovery of several preparative methods. In particular, three general synthetic routes to these complexes have emerged, on the basis of anionic group abstraction, coordination of a free silylene, and alpha-hydrogen migration. The direct transformation of organosilanes to silylene ligands at a metal center (silylene extrusion) has also been observed, and this has further spurred the exploration of silylenes as ligands. This Account describes the synthetic development of silylene ligands in our laboratory and resulting investigations of stoichiometric and catalytic chemistry for these species.