Prof. Dr. David Scheschkewitz (Universität des Saarlandes): Grafting and Incorporation of Transition metals to Unsaturated Silicon Clusters (Siliconoids)

In combination with transition metals, silicon is central to an increasing number of heterogenous catalytic processes. In this context, we became interested in the interaction of stable siliconoids with transitions metal centers. As direct grafting only yields tangible results in case of Group 4 metallocenes, we resorted to the introduction of tetrylenes of the Roesky-type as pending auxiliary ligand moieties. Depending on the transition metal center either exohedral coordination or partial incorporation into the cluster scaffold results, producing unique silicon-rich coordination environments. The thus obtained electron-rich transition metal centers show promising catalytic activity.