A square planar silylene nickel four-membered ring

Herein the new nickel silylene [PhC(N t Bu) 2 SiNi(C 5 Me 5 )] 2 , which features a square planar central ring motif consisting of two silicon and two nickel atoms is presented. The title compound was obtained by an insertion of the Ni(0) precursor [Ni(cod) 2 ] (cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) in the Si-C bond of the silylene [PhC(N t Bu) 2 Si(C 5 Me 5 )]. Analytic characterisation including mass spectrometry as well as IR and Raman spectroscopies was combined with quantum chemical calculations to get an insight on the bonding situation within the four-membered Si-Ni-ring. The square planar ring [PhC(N t Bu) 2 SiNi(C 5 Me 5 )] 2 was obtained by an insertion of a Ni(0) precusor in the Si-C bond of the silylene [PhC(N t Bu) 2 Si(C 5 Me 5 )].