Utilisation of a lithium boryl as a reducing agent in low oxidation state group 15 chemistry: synthesis and characterisation of an amido-distibene and a boryl-dibismuthene

Extremely bulky amide ligands in main group chemistry

The development of extremely sterically demanding, monodentate amide ligands facilitates the isolation of main group species with new and highly reactive coordination modes. An outstanding feature of these ligands is the ability to tune their steric demands. Reactivity investigations highlight the potential for small molecule activation chemistry and catalysis for these compounds.

Reduction of dichloro(diaza-phospha)stibanes – isolation of a donor-stabilized distibenium dication

A bulky NPN-substituted dichlorostibane was reduced with KC₈to afford a distibenium compound with a [Sb₂]²⁺ion which can be regarded as a dimerization product of a stiba-phospha-diazanediyl singlet biradicaloid. The intermediate formation of this singlet stiba-phospha-diazanediyl was proven by trapping experiments.

Synthesis of mono-, di-, and triaminobismuthanes and observation of C–C coupling of aromatic systems with bismuth(iii) chloride

Mono-, di- or triaminobismuthanes were synthesized depending on the sterical demand of the organic substituent. In one case, a C–C coupling product was observed as main product in the reaction of BiCl₃ with Mes*(SiMe₃)NLi.

A neutral low-coordinate heterocyclic bismuth-tin species

The reaction of cyclodistannadiazane with an excess of antimonytrichloride led to the formation of tetrachlorodistibanes, while in the reaction with bismuthtrichloride a carbenoid bismuth species was obtained which can be regarded as a heavy atom analog of NHCs.

All-metallagermoxane with an adamantanoid cage structure: [(Cp*Ru(CO)2Ge)4(μ-O)6] (Cp* = η5-C5Me5)

The first tetrametallagermoxane [(Cp*Ru(CO)₂Ge)₄(μ-O)₆], with an adamantanoid cage structure, has been synthesized and structurally characterized with an exo-{Cp*Ru(CO)₂} fragment in each germanium atom.