An account is given of the preparation and structural investigations of sil
yllithium compounds, including X-ray and NMR data. This review covers the c
hemistry of lithiosilanes with alkyl, aryl, functional substituents and lit
hiooligosilanes with Si-Si bonds. Application of lithiosilanes for the synt
hesis of polysilane dendritic molecules is also described. (C) 2000 Elsevie
r Science B.V. All rights reserved.