The Cp*Si+ cation as a stoichiometric source of silicon.

The Cp*Si(+) cation acts as a stoichiometric source of silicon in the reaction with the disilenide Tip(2)Si=Si(Tip)Li (Tip = 2,4,6-(i)Pr(3)C(6)H(2)) affording known neutral unsaturated silicon clusters. It thereby provides a conceptually different approach to this novel class of compounds. The proposed mechanism involves a Cp*-substituted cyclotrisilene in which Cp*(-) acts as a leaving group upon single electron reduction or in a nucleophilic substitution step.