Synthesis of a digermane-containing tricylic nonadecadienedione incorporating an equivalent of ring-opened THF

The combination of 2 equiv of bisbis(trimethylsilyl)amide]germylene (5) with 2 equiv of 4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (PTAD) in tetrahydrofuran (THF) results in the ring-opening of 1 equiv of THF to form 2,2,8,8-tetrakis(1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyl-disilazan-2-yl)-5,16-diphenyl-7,9,14-trioxa-1,3,5,16,18,19-hexaaza-2,8-digerma-tricyclo13.2.1.13,6]nonadeca-6(19),15(18)-diene-4,17-dione (6). This fast and nearly quantitative reaction builds a 15-membered ring from five different molecules. The new ring, structurally assigned by X-ray crystallography, contains a flexible methylene chain that moves rapidly on the NMR time scale.