Reactions of amines with silenes and acylsilanes

Primary and secondary amines add cleanly in the dark to the silicon-carbon double bonds of silenes of the family (Me3Si)(2)Si=C(OSiMe3)R to give the p roducts (Me3Si)(2)(R2N)SiCH(OSiMe3)R. Secondary amines also add in the dark to acylsilanes of the family R3SiCOAr (R = alkyl, aryl) to give animals Ar CH(NR2)(2) and silanols R3SiOH, while primary amines form the imine ArCH=NR , corresponding to the acyl group of the acylsilane plus the related silano l. However, amines do not add in the dark to polysilylacylsilanes (Me3Si)(3 )SiCOR. Mechanisms explaining the results are proposed.