The Pentamethylcyclopentadienylsilicon(II) Cation as a Catalyst for the Specific Degradation of Oligo(ethyleneglycol) Diethers

Catalytic open sandwiches: Oligo(ethyleneglycol) diethers RO(CH2CH2O)nR are degraded by the unusual catalyst Cp*Si+ (see scheme). The open coordination sphere at silicon allows up to four SiO contacts; crystal structure data of the reactive compounds [Cp*Si(dme)]+BR4− and [Cp*Si([12]crown-4)]+BR4− (R=C6F5) show weakly bound ether molecules.