Issue 8, 2016

Heavier congeners of CO and CO2 as ligands: from zero-valent germanium (‘germylone’) to isolable monomeric GeX and GeX2 complexes (X = S, Se, Te)

Abstract

In contrast to molecular CO and CO2, their heavier mono- and dichalcogenide homologues, EX and EX2 (E = Si, Ge, Sn, Pb; X = O, S, Se, Te), are important support materials (e.g., SiO2) and/or semiconductors (e.g., SiS2) and exist typically as insoluble crystalline or amorphous polymers under normal conditions. Herein, we report the first successful synthesis and characterisation of an extraordinary series of isolable monomeric GeX and GeX2 complexes (X = S, Se, Te), representing novel classes of compounds and heavier congeners of CO and CO2. This could be achieved by solvent-dependent oxidation reactions of the new zero-valent germanium (‘germylone’)–GaCl3 precursor adduct (bis-NHC)Ge0→GaCl31 (bis-NHC = H2C[{NC(H)[double bond, length as m-dash]C(H)N(Dipp)}C:]2, Dipp = 2,6-iPr2C6H3) with elemental chalcogens, affording the donor–acceptor stabilised monomeric germanium(IV) dichalcogenide (bis-NHC)GeIV([double bond, length as m-dash]X)[double bond, length as m-dash]X→GaCl3 (X = S, 2; X = Se, 3) and germanium(II) monochalcogenide complexes (bis-NHC)GeII[double bond, length as m-dash]X→GaCl3 (X = Se, 4; X = Te, 5), respectively. Moreover, the reactivity of 4 and 5 towards elemental sulphur, selenium, and tellurium has been investigated. In THF, the germanium(II) monoselenide complex 4 reacts with activated elemental selenium to afford the desired germanium(IV) diselenide complex 3. Unexpectedly, both reactions of 4 and 5 with elemental sulphur, however, lead to the formation of germanium(IV) disulfide complex 2 under liberation of elemental Se and Te as a result of further oxidation of the germanium centre and replacement of the Se and Te atoms by sulphur atoms. All novel compounds 1–5 have been fully characterised, including single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses, and studied by DFT calculations.

Graphical abstract: Heavier congeners of CO and CO2 as ligands: from zero-valent germanium (‘germylone’) to isolable monomeric GeX and GeX2 complexes (X = S, Se, Te)

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
09 Mar 2016
Accepted
09 May 2016
First published
10 May 2016
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2016,7, 5462-5469

Heavier congeners of CO and CO2 as ligands: from zero-valent germanium (‘germylone’) to isolable monomeric GeX and GeX2 complexes (X = S, Se, Te)

Y. Xiong, S. Yao, M. Karni, A. Kostenko, A. Burchert, Y. Apeloig and M. Driess, Chem. Sci., 2016, 7, 5462 DOI: 10.1039/C6SC01839D

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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