Radical Reactivity of Hydrovinylsilanes: Homooligomers

Diphenylvinylsilane (1) undergoes oligomerization when initiated by azobis(isobutyronitrile) or peroxide initiators (benzoyl peroxide, di-tert-butyl peroxide, dicumyl peroxide). With the exception of the reaction with di-tert-butyl peroxide, the efficiency of the radical reactions is very low: 15% starting material was recovered even with 1 equiv of added initiator. The Sivinyl groups are consumed preferentially to the SiH groups. The …