HEXASUBSTITUTED DISILANES FROM CHLOROSILANES AND LITHIUM IN TETRAHYDROFURAN

General procedures are provided for the preparation in satisfactory yields of hexamethyl-, hexaethyl- and 1,2-dibenzyl-1,1,2,2-tetramethyldisilane from the corresponding R3SiCl compounds with lithium metal in THF. Optimal conditions for the preparation of hexamethyldisilane by this procedure were studied. Dimethylphenyl- and diethylphenylchlorosilanes gave the corresponding disilanes when treated with one equivalent of lithium in THF; no secondary cleavage of the SiSi bond occurred under these conditions. Diethylphenylsilyllithium was obtained by lithium cleavage of the corresponding disilane and characterized by reaction with chlorotriphenylsilane to give 1,1-diethyl-1,2,2,2-tetraphenyldisilane. © 1968.