Thermolysis of trifluoromethylsilanes. Novel fluoromethylsilanes by insertion of CF2 and CHF into Si-H bonds

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/0022-328X(90)87285-L

The thermal decomposition in the gas phase of CF3SiH3 and (CF3)2SiH2 begins at ca. 200 and ca. 100 deg C, respectively.It is catalyzed by KF, and involves as initial step a clean CF2 elimination with an α-fluorine shift.Reactive species such as HBr trap CF2 quantitatively (to give in this case CHF2Br), while addition to the less reactive cyclohexene (to give 7,7-difluorobicycloheptane) is accompanied by secondary reactions.These dominate in the absence of an efficient CF2 trapping agent, and spectroscopic product analyses reveal that they mainly arise from insertion of the carbenes CHnF(2-n) into Si-H bonds followed by CH(n+1)F(1-n) elimination (n = 0, 1).This sequence corresponds to H/F exchange at the Si atom.Insertion of CF2 (generated by thermolysis of CF3SiF3 below 100 deg C) into an Si-H bond of H3SiF to give CHF2SiH2F in good yield is the first example of such a reaction and demonstrates its usefulness for the selective synthesis of CHF2Si compounds.In addition, some dismutation of SiHnF(3-n) moieties accompanies the carbene elimination/insertion reactions and the resulting novel fluoromethylsilanes were characterized by 1H and 19F NMR and (in part) IR spectroscopy.The synthesis of (CF3)2SiHBr by cleavage of (CF3)2Si(H)N(i-Pr)2 with BBr3 and its conversion with LiAlH4 to (CF3)2SiH2 are reported.The mechanism of the CF2/SiH insertion reaction is discussed.