Organometallics, 25, 4439-4443 (2006).

© American Chemical Society

First detection of methylgermylene in the gas-phase and time resolved study of some of its reactions

Rosa Becerra, Cameron R. Harrington, William J. Leigh, Lida A. Kefala, and Robin Walsh*

Contribution from the Instituto de Quimica-Fisica ‘Rocasolano’, C.S.I.C., C/Serrano 119, 28006 Madrid, Spain, the Department of Chemistry, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4M1 Canada, and the Department of Chemistry, University of Reading, Whiteknights, P.O. Box 224, Reading, RG6 6AD, UK

A new transient species has been produced and detected by the gas-phase, 193 nm laser flash photolysis of 1,3,4-trimethylgermacyclopent-3-ene, TMGCP. The species has strong visible absorptions in the wavelength region 450-520 nm (maximum at 485 nm) and is attributed to the germylene, MeGeH. Time resolved kinetic studies have led to the first rate constants for its reactions with GeH₄, Me₂GeH₂, C₂H₂, C₂H₄, C₃H₆, i-C₄H₈, TMGCP, MeOH, HCl and SO₂. The reactivity of MeGeH is compared to those of GeH₂ and GeMe₂. The Me-for-H substituent effect varies according to reaction type and is not constant from GeH₂ to MeGeH to GeMe₂.

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