title: Contrasting reactivities of silicon and germanium complexes supported by an N-heterocyclic guanidine ligand.
abstract: We report the synthesis of an acyclic two-coordinate germylene supported by two bulky and electron donating N-heterocyclic guanidine [IPr═N](-) ligands (IPr = [(HCNDipp)2C:]; Dipp = [2,6-(i)Pr2C6H3]), and its reactivity with molecular hydrogen to form IPr═NH, which presumably proceeds via the unstable intermediate [H2Ge(N═IPr)2]. Our attempts to isolate the corresponding silylene [:Si(N═IPr)2] led to an unexpected ligand activation/rearrangement process involving N-C(aryl) bond cleavage within the N-heterocyclic guanidine ligand; this transformation was also studied by computational methods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta , 11227 Saskatchewan Drive, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2G2, Canada.
authors.forename: Melanie W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Lui
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Merten
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Ferguson
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.forename: Yunjie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rivard