SYNTHESIS OF ARYLSILANE AND HETEROARYLSILANE BY CLEAVAGE OF HEXAMETHYLDILANE

In the presence of hexamethylphosphoramide and a catalytic quantity of tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium, hexamethyldisilane reacts with various functional aryl bromides to give the corresponding arylsilanes in satisfactory yields. The reaction has been extended to fluorinated aromatics and, for the first time, to bromo-derivatives of pyridine and quinoline as well as to 3,4-dichlorotrifluoromethylbenzene. This process, which avoids the use of a stoichiometric amount of metal, is especially useful when the function attached to the aryl bromide is not compatible with common organometallic intermediates.