Isolation of a Stable, Acyclic, Two-Coordinate Silylene

The synthesis and characterization of a stable, acyclic two-coordinate silylene, Si(SAr(Me(6)))(2) [Ar(Me(6)) = C(6)H(3)-2,6(C(6)H(2)-2,4,6-Me(3))(2)], by reduction of Br(2)Si(SAr(Me(6)))(2) with a magnesium(I) reductant is described. It features a V-shaped silicon coordination with a S-Si-S angle of 90.52(2)° and an average Si-S distance of 2.158(3) Å. Although it reacts readily with an alkyl halide, it does not react with hydrogen under ambient conditions, probably as a result of the ca. 4.3 eV energy difference between the frontier silicon lone pair and 3p orbitals.