Synthesis and Characterization of β-Diketiminate Germanium(II) Compounds

Reactions of LGeCl (L = CH­[C­(Me)­N­(Ar)]2; Ar = 2,6-iPr2C6H3) with KOtBu or LiR (R = 2-thienyl, N­(H)­Ar, PPh2) yielded the germanium­(II) compounds LGeR [R = OtBu (1), 2-thienyl (2), N­(H)Ar (3), PPh2 (4)]. The reduction of (2-thienyl)2PCl with lithium afforded the diphosphane [(2-thienyl)2P]2 (5). The treatment of (2-thienyl)2PCl with LiAlH4 or KHBtBu3 led to the formation of (2-thienyl)2PH (6). The NHC-assisted reaction of LGeCl and 6 resulted in the isolation of LGeP­(2-thienyl)2 (7). This is the first example where NHC is used for eliminating HCl from compounds with P–H and Ge–Cl bonds. All solid products were characterized by elemental analysis, NMR and IR spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray structure determination.