Potassium, (trimethylsilyl)- (9CI)

Uses

Trimethylsilylpotassium highly reactive nucleophile and one-electron transfer reagent; deoxygenates substituted epoxides with inversion of stereochemistry.

Preparation

Prepared quantitatively by the cleavage of the silicon¨Csilicon bond of hexamethyldisilane with potassium hydride or potassium alkoxides (KOMe or potassium tbutoxide) (eqs 1 and 2). It can also be conveniently prepared by deprotonation of Me3SiH with KH (eq 3). These procedures circumvent the need to handle volatile organomercury compounds that previous routes required.