Pentacoordinate spirosilicate anion, bis(2,2′-biphenyldiyl)methylsilicate, synthesized by the lithium cleavage of dimethoxyethane

The reaction of spirobisilafluorene (1) with lithium in dimethoxyethane produces lithium 1-methyl-spirobisilafluorenide (2), a stable pentacoordinate silicon compound with five carbon ligands, and lithium 2-methoxyethoxide, which was identified by trapping with Ph₃SiCl to give Ph₃Si-OCH2CH2OCH3 (4). The X-ray crystal structure of 2 shows that the geometry at silicon is an idealized trigonal bipyramid, slightly distorted toward a square pyramid. Methanolysis of 2 cleaves a Si-aryl bond producing a methyl biphenylsilafluorene, 3. Crystal structures are reported for 3 and 4.