Ionic Dissociation of SiCl4 : Formation of [SiL6 ]Cl4 with L=Dimethylphosphinic Acid.

Reactions of SiCl4 with R2 PO(OH) (R=Me, Cl) yield compounds with six-fold coordinated silicon atoms. Whereas R=Me afforded the hexacoordinated tetra-cationic silicon complex [Si(Me2 PO(OH))6 ]4+ with chloride counter-ions, R=Cl caused release of HCl with formation of a cyclic dimeric silicon complex [Si(Cl2 PO(OH))(Cl2 PO2 )3 (μ-Cl2 PO2 )]2 with bridging bidentate dichlorophosphates.