New Germanium Complexes Containing Ligands Based on 4,6‐Di‐ tert ‐butyl‐ N ‐(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl)‐ o ‐iminobenzoquinone in Different Redox States

The exchange reaction of lithium o ‐amidophenolate, (AP)Li 2 , derived from the reaction of 4,6‐di‐ tert ‐butyl‐ N ‐(2,6‐diisopropylphenyl)‐ o ‐iminobenzoquinone (imQ) with GeCl 4 in hexane or thf leads to (AP) 2 Ge ( 1 ) (AP is a dianion of imQ). The latter was also obtained by the interaction of GeCl 2 · dioxane and (ISQ)Li in toluene (ISQ is a radical anion of imQ). The reaction of (AP)Li 2 with GeCl 2 · dioxane in thf results in the formation of germylene 2 , [(AP)Ge ( 2 )], which reduces neutral imQ to give compound 1 . The exposure of 1 in thf to anhydrous HCl in a 1:1 molar ratio leads to its o ‐aminophenolato derivative, (AP)(APH)GeCl ( 3 ). Free imQ inserts into the Ge–H bond of (C 6 F 5 ) 3 GeH in thf to give (C 6 F 5 ) 3 Ge(APH) ( 4 ). It is another way of obtaining complexes with protonated ligands such as APH. Compound 3 can be easily oxidized by air to form the stable paramagnetic complex (AP)(ISQ)GeCl ( 5 ). Complexes 1 and 3 – 5 were structurally investigated by using single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction.(© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2008)