Gas phase kinetic and theoretical studies of reactions of germylenes and dimethylstannylene

The results of time resolved gas phase studies of labile germylenes (GeH₂ and GeMe₂) and dimethylstannylene (SnMe₂) reactions reported to date are considered together with data of quantum-chemical investigations of the potential energy surfaces of these systems. Reaction mechanisms are discussed. A comparison of reactivity in the series of carbene analogs, ER₂ (E = Si, Ge, Sn, R = H, Me), is made.__________Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 477–505, March, 2005.