Electronic structure and bonding in the platinum–silylene complex [PtSiH2]

Relativistic ab initio molecular orbital calculations have been performed on the monoligated neutral complex [PtSiH2] in order to investigate the nature and energetics of the interaction between the metal and SiH2 ligand. The results suggest that the silylene ligand acts as both a σ-donor and π-acceptor but is a relatively better π-acceptor. The electronic structure of [PtSiH2] is analyzed in detail as measured by Wiberg’s bond indices, charge distributions and orbital populations.