Si–N Heterodehydrocoupling with a Lanthanide Compound

[La­{N­(SiMe₃)₂}₃THF₂] (1) is an effective precatalyst for the heterodehydrocoupling of silanes and amines. Coupling of primary and secondary amines with aryl silanes was achieved with a loading of 0.8 mol % of [La­{N­(SiMe₃)₂}₃THF₂]. With primary amines, generation of tertiary and sometimes quaternary silamines was facile, often requiring only a few hours to reach completion, including new silamines Ph₃Si­(ⁿPrNH) and Ph₃Si­(ⁱPrNH). Secondary amines were also available for heterodehydrocoupling, though they generally required longer reaction times and, in some instances, higher reaction temperatures. This work expands upon the utility of f-block complexes in heterodehydrocoupling catalysis.