Carbene-Stabilized Exceptional Silicon Halides

The isolation of stable carbenes, such as N-heterocyclic carbenes, cyclic alkyl amino carbenes, and abnormal N-heterocyclic carbenes, has encouraged synthetic chemists to use them as neutral ligands for stabilizing unusual compounds with main group elements. In this Minireview, an overview is provided of the recent developments in the chemistry of carbene-stabilized silicon halides, in which the silicon atoms are in low oxidation state. The structural diversities emanating from the differences in the HOMO–LUMO gaps of various carbenes will also be discussed.