The dinitrogen complex ([
NPN]Ta)
2(
![](/images/entities/mgr.gif)
-
1:
2-N
2)(
![](/images/entities/mgr.gif)
-H)
2,
1, (where [NPN] = (PhNSiMe
2CH
2)
2PPh)undergoes hydrosilylation with primary and secondary alkyl- and arylsilanes, giving a new N-Si bond anda new terminal tantalum hydride derived from one Si-H unit. Various primary silanes can be employed togive isolable complexes of the general formula ([NPN]TaH)(
![](/images/entities/mgr.gif)
-N-N-SiH
nR
3-n)(
![](/images/entities/mgr.gif)
-H)
2(Ta[NPN]) (
5, R=Bu,
n = 2;
9, R=Ph,
n = 2). Analogous complexes featuring secondary silanes are not isolable, becausethese products, and
5 and
9, are uniformly unstable toward reductive elimination of bridging hydrides asH
2, followed by cleavage of the N-N bond to give ([NPN]TaH)(
![](/images/entities/mgr.gif)
-N)(
![](/images/entities/mgr.gif)
-N-SiH
nR
3-n)(Ta[NPN]) (
6, R=Bu,
n = 2;
10, R=Ph,
n = 2;
15, R=Ph,
n = 1;
16, R=Ph and Me,
n = 1). The bridging nitrido ligand in thesecomplexes is itself a substrate for a second hydrosilylation when
n = 2, and schemes leading to Ta(IV)complexes of the general formula ([NPN]Ta)
2(
![](/images/entities/mgr.gif)
-N-SiH
2R)(
![](/images/entities/mgr.gif)
-N-SiH
2R') via elimination of H
2 are reported(
4, R=R' = Bu;
12, R=Bu, R' = Ph;
13, R=Bu, R' = CH
2CH
2SiH
3). At this point, the general reactionmanifold for these compounds ramifies, with distinct outcomes occurring for different R groups-[NPN]ligand amide migration from Ta to RSi affords
11,
([NPN]Ta(
-NSiH2Ph)(
-NSiH2Ph)Ta[NPN]), whereasstable complex
6 rearranges to give
7,
([NP(C6H4)N]Ta(BuSiH2N-
-SiHBu-
-N)Ta[NPN]) in the presence of excess silane. Ethanediylbissilane reacts with
1 to give
14,
([NP(C6H4)N]Ta(N-SiH2CH2CH2Si(H)-
-N)Ta[NPN]), isostructural to
7.