Recent Developments in the Chemistry of Metal Silyls of the Type M(SiR3)n

Whereas rapid strides have recently been made in the chemistry of the silyls of nonmetals, our knowledge of metal silyls is still scanty. Silyl compounds with every nonmetal are now known, but the literature on metal silyls is almost entirely restricted to silyl compounds of the alkali metals. This is all the more surprising, since the closely related field of elementalhomologous organometallic compounds of the type M(CR3)n (Where M = metal, R = hydrogen and/or organic residue, and n = valence of the metal) is among the most interesting and extensively studied areas of chemistry. This report will therefore deal with the results of recent investigations on metal silyls which led beyond the alkali silyls to silyl compounds of the alkaline earth metals, zinc, mercury, aluminum, and tin.