Germylene-Induced Hydrogenation of Benzophenone

Ge[CH(SiMe3)2]2 reacts with benzophenone to
form a conjugated triene. Wilkinson's catalyst, Rh(PPh3)3Cl, is an effective precatalyst for the isomerization
of one double bond and hydrogenation of a second double
bond of this triene. This reaction demonstrates that
germylene activation of the phenone moiety yields reactive double bonds amenable to catalytic transformation,
even with bulky catalysts such as the presumed active
form of Wilkinson's catalyst, Rh(PPh3)2Cl.