Triethoxysilane, Tetraethoxysilane and Hexaethoxydisiloxane - Three Complementary Reagents for the Synthesis of Hydrogen-Rich Silylarenes

Triethoxysilane HSi(OEt) 3 , tetraethoxysilane Si(OEt) 4 and hexaethoxydisiloxane Si 2 O(OEt) 6 have been probed as reagents for the synthesis of hydrogen-rich silyl-arenes Ar(SiH 3 ) n . A large set of new silyl-arenes, varying in their substitution patterns and grades, have been prepared. The results establish the two new silylating agents HSi(OEt) 3 and Si 2 O(OEt) 6 as particularly useful alternatives to Si(OEt) 4 . The products, which include trihydrosilyl-substituted methylbenzenes, naphthalenes and ferrocenes, have been characterized by NMR and IR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and single crystal X-ray diffraction.