Ring flipping of seven-membered and eight-membered dithienodisila- heterocycles

Ground state structures and ring flipping transition states of eight- and seven-membered silicon containing heterocyclic compounds such as dithienodisilacyclooctatriene and oxadithienodisilacycloheptadiene derivatives, respectively have theoretically been investigated. Although the bithienylene moiety of the derivatives does not change the ground state structures, they significantly increase the ring flipping barrier by 13-17 kcal/mol in the case of the eight-membered rings (2, 3, and 4) in comparison with that of silicon containing heterocyclic compound 6, chosen as a model. The same moiety increases the flipping barrier of seven-membered ring (5) is only slightly (3.3 kcal/mol) in comparison with that of model compound 7. Hence, it has been concluded that not only the existing ring strain of eight-membered ring but also the bithienylene moiety collectively increases the ring flipping barrier so as to prevent such conformational changes explaining anomalous NMR behaviour of dithienodisilacyclooctatriene derivatives (2-4). In contrast, the effect of substituents R¹ and R² at the olefinic carbons of the eight-membered ring on the flipping barrier turned out to be mild.