Dimethylsilyl- and methylene-bridged aromatic groups

The zero-field splitting parameters D and E, or D, were measured by electron spin spectroscopy for the triplet states of bis(4-biphenylyl)dimethylsilane, 4,4′-bis-(4-biphenylyldimethylsilyl)biphenyl, 1,2-diphenyltetramethyldisilane, several monosilanes, bis(4-biphenylyl)methane, 4,4′-bis(4-phenylbenzyl)biphenyl, and dimethyldiphenylmethane. The zero-field splitting values of compounds having biphenyl subunits bridged with either SiMe2- or CH2-groups, compared with those of mono- and disubstituted biphenyls, show that the triplet electrons are localized mainly on one biphenyl group in each of the bridged compounds on the time scale of the ESR observations.