Triarylsilylmetallic compounds have been found to metalate triarplmethanes, and if an excess of the metallic reagent is present, it reacts further with the triarylsilane formed to yield a tetraarylsilane. This behavior explains the recently reported anomalous formation of tetraphenylsilane from the reactions of triphenylsilylpotassium with a variety of compounds containing active hydrogen. Although no reaction occurs between equimolar amounts of ...
