A Bis(germyliumylidene)silver(I) Complex Dication

The reaction of the 2,6-bis­(imino)­phenylchlorogermylene [LGeCl] (1, L = C6H3-2,6-(HC​NtBu)2) with silver­(I) trifluoromethanesulfonate (AgOTf) in a molar ratio of 2:3 in toluene afforded a mixture of the bis­(germylene)­silver­(I) complex [{L­(TfO)­Ge}2­Ag­(OTf)] (2) and AgCl. Compound 2 was then reacted with 2 equiv of 1,3-dimethyl-4,5-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene (IMe, :C­{N­(Me)­C­(Me)}2) in toluene to afford 3, which comprises the bis­(germyliumylidene)­silver­(I) complex dication [{L­(IMe)­Ge}2­Ag­(OTf)]2+. Compounds 2 and 3 were characterized by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. [{L­(IMe)­Ge}2­Ag­(OTf)]2+ in compound 3 was further elucidated by DFT studies.