A series of p-substituted benzoylsilanes have been synthesized and their infrared and ultraviolet spectra determined. Correlations of both the infrared carbonyl stretching frequency and the n–π* ultraviolet absorption with Hammett substituent constants have been found. Benzoylsilanes are generally unstable in ethanol undergoing light-catalyzed decomposition. Benzoyldiphenylphosphine was found to give spectra similar to those of benzoylsilanes.
Tosylhydrazones have been prepared from acylsilanes and -germanes. These may be converted in excellent yield by n-butyllithium to the metalloidal diazoalkanes under milder conditions than are required for the analogous carbon compounds. The diazoalkanes are far more stable than their carbon counterparts. These results, together with spectral shifts noted for the silyl and germyl compounds, are interpreted in terms of dπ–pπ bonding between the diazo group and the metalloid atom.