Crystal structure and unambiguous assignment of two ligand exchange barriers in neutral pentacoordinate silicon complexes: Correlation of ²⁹Si and ¹⁵N chemical shifts and Si-N cleavage barriers

The first assignment of both consecutive ligand exchange processes, Si-N cleavage and pseudorotation, in a series of neutral pentacoordinate silicon complexes with a single halogen ligand (monofunctional silanes) is described. The first crystal structure for a N-Si chelate with a ClSiC₂ON coordination center was determined. A remarkable linear correlation was found between Si-N cleavage barriers and the corresponding coordinative ²⁹Si and ¹⁵N chemical shifts.