Characterization of a Plumbylplumbylene: An Isomeric Form of a “Diplumbene”

The synthesis and characterization of the first
stable example of a substituted lead analogue of methylmethylene, a valence isomer of ethylene, are reported.
The title compound features a bond between a divalent
and a tetravalent lead center and is stabilized by the
incorporation of the lead−lead bond into a stabilizing
ring structure. It was synthesized fortuitously and in low
yield by the “activation” of the diplumbyne [PbArTrip2]2,
where ArTrip2 = −C6H3−2,6-(C6H2-2,4,6-iPr3)2, with trimethylsilyl azide, N3SiMe3, and it was characterized via
NMR spectroscopy and by single-crystal X-ray crystallography.