Si-H activation by means of metal ligand cooperation in a methandiide derived carbene complexElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental procedures, characterization data, crystallographic and computational details. CCDC 1063355-1063357. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c5cc05201g

Si-H bond activation of a number of silanes via metal ligand cooperation in a carbene complex is reported. Thereby, the electronic flexibility of the carbene ligand allows for the activation via a unique mechanism with oxidative addition to an 18e species without a formal change in the number of valence electrons. Si-H bond activation of a series of silanes by means of metal ligand cooperation is reported.