Conformational behavior and electronic structure of silylketenes studied with quantum chemical calculations and photoelectron spectroscopy

The He(I) photoelectron spectra of silylketenes (Me3Si)2C=C=O (1), Me5Si2CH=C=O (2), Me2Si(CH=C=O)2 (3), MeSi(CH=C=O)3 (4), (SiMe2CH=C=O)2 (5), and (CH2SiMe2CH=C=O)2 (6) have been recorded and their structures and orbital energies have been calculated by ab initio methods. Orbital energies for disilanes 2 and 5 are strongly dependent on a Si-Si-C-C torsional angle due to σ–π orbital interaction. Comparisons between experimental and simulated spectra show that 2 and 5 prefer conformations in which the Si—Si bond and ketene group(s) are approximately orthogonal (113° and 111°, respectively). Silylalkenes Me5Si2CH=CH2 (7) and (SiMe2CH=CH2)2 (8), which have been included in the computational study, show the same behavior as their corresponding silylketenes. Silylbis- and trisketenes 3–6 do not exhibit π–π interaction of any significance. For Si—Si containing compounds, the best agreement between experimental and computed data was obtained when Becke3LYP/6-31G*//HF/3-21G* was employed. Keywords: conformational behavior, electronic structure, photoelectron spectroscopy, quantum chemical calculations, silylketenes.