Relative carbanion basicities as driving force for an intramolecular silyl migration of lithiated biphenyls

A solvent-dependent silyl migration of lithiated biphenyls is described, involving the intermediate formation of a pentacoordinated silicate complex. Differences in the relative basicities of the aryllithium intermediates are the possible driving force for this migration. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.