Application of the Donor–Acceptor Concept to Intercept Low Oxidation State Group 14 Element Hydrides using a Wittig Reagent as a Lewis Base

This
article outlines our attempts to stabilize the Group 14 element dihydrides,
GeH2 and SnH2, using commonly employed phosphine
and pyridine donors; in each case, elemental Ge and Sn extrusion was
noted. However, when these phosphorus and nitrogen donors were replaced
with the ylidic Wittig ligand Ph3PCMe2, stable inorganic methylene complexes (EH2) were obtained,
demonstrating the utility of this under-explored ligand class in advancing
main group element coordination chemistry.