Beta-silyl-substituted silaadamantyl,silabicyclo[2.2.2]octyl,silanorbornyl, and 1-silacyclohexyl cations. A theoretical (DFT and GIAO NMR) study

Parent 1-silaadamant-1-yl (1+) and a series of mono-beta-silyl-substituted- (2-Me+, 2-F+, 2-Cl+, 2-Br+), bis-beta-silyl-substituted- (3-Me+), and tris-beta-silyl-substituted (4-Me+)-1-silaadamant-1-yl cations were studied by the DFT method at the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level and by GIAO NMR at the B3LYP/ 6-31G(d,p)//B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level. The geometries, relative energies, NMR chemical shifts, and charge distribution in the bridgehead silylium ions are discussed and compared. The magnitude of the beta-silyl effect (the Si-C-Si+ hyperconjugation) is gauged as a function of structure. Related model studies on the silabicyclo[2.2.2]octyl (5+, 6+, 5a+, and 6a+), silanorbornyl (7+ and 8+), and silacyclohexyl cations (9+ and 10+) were carried out in which the effect of beta-silyl substitution on geometry, stability, and NMR chemical shifts was probed. The acyclic model Me3Si-CH2-Si+(Me)2 (11+) was used to gauge the influence of the twist angle between the p-orbital at Si+ and the C-Si bond on relative stability and on the changes in the 29Si NMR chemical shifts. Finally, interaction of 1+ with H2O and MeOH and 2-Me+ with H2O was also examined. The resulting optimized structures (12+, 13+, and 14+) and the computed NMR chemical shifts are most compatible with the formation of silaoxonium ions.