Synthesis and properties of a new kinetically stabilized digermyne: New insights for a germanium analogue of an alkyne

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/ja057205y

The reduction of an overcrowded (E)-1,2-dibromodigermene, Bbt(Br)Ge=Ge(Br)Bbt (2) [Bbt = 2,6-bis[bis(trimethylsilyl)methyl]-4- [tris(trimethylsilyl)methyl]phenyl], with KC₈ afforded a stable digermyne, BbtGe≡GeBbt (1). The Ge≡Ge triple-bond characters of 1 were revealed by the X-ray crystallographic analysis and spectroscopic studies (UV/vis and Raman spectra) together with theoretical calculations. The Ge≡Ge bond lengths of the two nonidentical molecules of 1 observed in the unit cell were shorter than that of the previously reported digermyne, Ar′e≡GeAr′ (Ar′ = 2,6-Dip₂C₆H ₃, Dip = 2,6-diisopropylphenyl).