Improved synthetic route to potassium silyl using crown ethers, potassium, and silane and its use to prepare methylsilane and disilylmethane

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/0022-328X(89)88035-0

The time for the reaction between K and SiH4 in glyme is reduced from months to hours by addition of 18-crown-6 to form SiH3.The usefulness of the reaction to prepare the SiH3^- anion as a synthetic intermediate is demonstrated by the reaction of SiH3 with CH3I and CH2Cl2 to prepare H3SiCH3 and (H3Si)2CH2, respectively.The rate of the reactions between K and GeH4 is also increased but not as dramatically with the addition of 18-crown-6 to form GeH3.