Consecutive Insertion of a Silylene into the P₄ Tetrahedron: Facile Access to Strained SiP₄ and Si₂P₄ Cage Compounds

Silylene bites twice in the first insertion of a silylene into a PP bond of the P4 tetrahedron. Reaction of the silylene 1 (see scheme; R=2,6-diisopropylphenyl) with white phosphorus at ambient temperature gives 2 with a tricyclic SiP4 core. The electronic situation in 2 favors the insertion of a second equivalent of 1 into a PP bond of the SiP4 skeleton, affording the novel strained tricyclic silaphosphane 3 with a Si2P4 core. Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW under http://www.wiley-vch.de/contents/jc_2002/2007/z701203_s.pdf or from the author. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.