A NEW AND EASY ROUTE TO POLYSILANYLPOTASSIUM COMPOUNDS

A method is presented for the synthesis of tertiary, secondary, and pr imary polysilylpotassium compounds. Reaction of potassium tert-butoxid e, in either DME or THE with a suitable precursor molecule, proceeds b y cleavage of a trimethylsilyl-polysilanyl bond, and formation of trim ethylsilyl tert-butyl ether and a polysilanylpotassium compound. This route allows easy and flexible access to a number of novel polysilanyl potassium compounds, avoiding the hitherto common use of poisonous mer cury compounds.