Silylene extrusion from silanes: Direct conversion of R2SiH2 to iridium silylene dihydride complexes

Silylene complexes, the silicon analogues of carbene complexes, feature
\nthree-coordinate, divalent silicon bound to a metal (R_2Si=ML_n). Significant
\nadvances in the preparation of these highly electrophilic species have been
\nmade in our laboritories over the past decade including, most recently, the
\npreparation of the first iridium silylene complex as a zwitterion:
\n[PhB(CH_2PPh_2)_3]lr(H)(eta-3-C_8H_(13)) + Mes_2SiH_2-[PhB(CH_2PPh_2)_3](H)_2lr=SiMes_2.