LAUSR

The reactivities of tris(benzyldimethylsilyl)phosphine [P(o-C6H4-CH2SiMe2H)3] (1) and tris(benzyldiphenylsilyl)phosphine [P(o-C6H4-CH2SiPh2H)3] (6) toward the same platinum precursor [Pt(PPh3)3] are strikingly different. The reaction with 1 renders the trans disilyl platinum(II) complex [Pt{P(o-C6H4-CH2SiMe2)2(o-C6H4-CHSiMe2)}PPh3] (2) in which the ligand coordinates in a tridentate fashion while a new Si–C bond is formed from the third Si moiety. The most prominent feature is an anagostic interaction that is established at the apical position. In contrast, the reaction of [Pt(PPh3)3] with 6 yields the hexacoordinated hydrido trisilyl platinum(IV) complex [PtH{P(o-C6H4-CH2SiPh2)3}PPh3] (7). We have studied the effect of the variation of the monodentate ligand in 2 by simple substitution reactions. We found a systematic variation of the chemical shift of the anagostic hydrogen in the 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of the corresponding PMe3, P(OPh)3, and CO complexes that can in principle be ascribe...