A Hydrosilylation Approach to Silicon-Bridged Functional Dipyrromethanes: Introducing Silicon to A New Arena.

Two silylene-spaced ((E)-vinylsilyl)anthracene-dipyrromethane dyads have been designed and synthesized by RhCl(PPh3 )3 -catalyzed hydrosilylation reactions of 5-methyl-5'-(ethynylaryl)dipyrromethanes with (9-Anthryl)-dimethylsilane. The complexation studies of dyads toward different anions have also been performed, which reveal that dyads exhibit a highly selective response towards fluoride anion attributable to both hydrogen-bonding and pentacoordination phenomena. This dual-mode fluoride recognition event is unprecedented and may pave the way for future developments in the areas of porphyrinoids, organosilicon, polymer, and supramolecular chemistry.