Chemistry of gallium .6. Tris(trimethylsilyl)silylgallium(I) - An experimental and theoretical study

The gallium(I)tris(trimethylsilyl)silyl compound {GaSi(SiMe(3))(3)}(4) (1) is obtained by reaction of Ga2Cl4-2dioxane with LiSi(SiMe(3))(3)-3THF. The crystal structure of 1 reveals a tetramer with a nearly regular tetrahedral framework of gallium atoms. The gallium-gallium distances average 258.4pm. Ab initio calculations on various substituted gallium tetrahedrons showed a greater stability of silyl-substituted cages compared with organyl substituted ones. Crystal data, with Mo K alpha radiation are as follows: {GaSi(SiMe(3))(3)}(4) . Si(SiMe(3))(4) (1), a, b = 1923.3(3)pm, c = 2671.2(4)pm, V = 9.881(3)nm(3); tetragonal space group P4/ncc; Z = 4; 1513 (I>2 sigma(I)) data; R1 = 0.068.