The effective ‘size’ of the tris(trimethylsilyl)silyl group in several molecular environments

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The effective size of the tris(trimethylsilyl)silyl group in several molecular environments has been estimated. 2,2-Dimesityl-1-tris(trimethylsilyl)silylethanol 1g has been prepared and its structure determined by X-ray crystallography. The Mes–CC torsional angles are 59.6 (φ2) and 63.3°(φ2) and the CC–Si bond angle α4 is 133.8°. The two-ring flip barrier for the correlated rotation of the two mesityl rings around the Mes–C bonds is ΔGc ‡= 10.2 kcal mol–1. The structures of enols Mes2CC(OH)R, R = H, Me, Et, Pri, But(1a–1e), Me3Si (1f), (Me3Si)3Si (1g) and (Me3Si)3C (1h) and the two-ring flip barriers have been calculated by the MM2* force-field. The calculated and the experimental values are in good agreement, except for somewhat lower calculated α4 for 1b–1e and a shorter C–Si distance in 1g. From the linear correlations between the observed cos φ2 or ΔGc ‡ values and Es values for the enols 1a–1e, and the values observed for 1g an average Es value of –1.46 has been calculated for (Me3Si)3Si. MM2* calculations gave an A value for (Me3Si)3Si of 4.89 kcal mol–1. These steric parameters resemble those for the But group (Es=–1.54; A= 4.9 kcal mol–1) indicating a similar effective size for the But and (Me3Si)3Si groups in these specific environments. (Me3Si)3C is significantly larger (A= 13.3 kcal mol–1; estimated Es=–3.7).