Synthesis and reactivity of new yttrium and lanthanide silyl complexes

The authors have been investigating a new route to stable yttrium and lanthanide silyl derivatives, Cp*{sub 2}LnSiH(SiMe{sub 3}){sub 2} (Ln = Y, Nd, Sm), by the reaction of Cp*{sub 2}LnCH(SiMe{sub 3}){sub 2} with H{sub 2}Si(SiMe{sub 3}){sub 2}. The mechanism of this reaction, which does not go through a simple sigma bond metathesis, and the generality of this route to the synthesis of other lanthanide silyls will be discussed. In addition, this paper will report reactivity studies of these complexes with various substrates (e.g., Ph{sub 2}SiH{sub 2}, Ph{sub 3}SiSiH{sub 3}, MeSiH{sub 3}) which indicate that Ln-Si bonds are quite reactive.