When might silylenes behave more like carbenes

Qualitative arguments and preliminary theoretical studies by Harrison suggest that lithiosilylene (SiHLi) may have a triplet electronic ground state. This possibility has been confirmed in the present detailed ab initio quantum mechanical study. Using double-zeta and double-zeta plus polarization basis sets, the different low-lying electronic states of SiHLi have been investigated using self-consistent-field and configuration interaction methods. The triplet ground state potential surface is very flat, with two nearly degenerate minima at θ (HSiLi) values of 137° and 48°, respectively. The lowest singlet state lies ~ 7 kcal higher in energy and is predicted to have an equilibrium bond angle of ~93°, much like the parent silylene SiH2. Vibrational frequencies are predicted for all stationary points.