ABSTRACT
The silylation of hydroxynaphthoquinones and hydroxyanthraquinones with N-methyl-N-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-2,2,2-trifluoroacetamide, in one step reaction, under mild conditions, has led, in nearly quantitative yields, to the isolation of hydrolytically stable partially silylated products (only of the hydroxyl groups), which differ dramatically in color from the starting materials. The spectroscopic investigation of the silylated products in solution as well as the correlation of the observed data with computationally derived results have been carried out within a study aiming at the understanding of the visible maxima shift to either the ultraviolet or near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, which would imply availability of the silylated products in a variety of related applications.