New method of synthesis of 1,1-bis(trialkylsilyl)- and bis(trialkylgermyl)germacyclopenta-2,4-dienes

The reactions of 1,1-dichloro-2,3,4,5-tetraphenyl-1-germacyclopenta-2,4-diene (1), magnesium, and R₃ECl (E = Si, Ge) under mild conditions (20 °C, THF) gave 1,1-bis(trimethylsilyl)-2,3,4,5-tetraphenyl-1-germacyclopenta-2,-4-diene (2a) and 1,1-bis(triethylgermyl)-2,3,4,5-tetraphenyl-1-germacyclopenta-2,4-diene (2b) respectively. The reaction is versatile and applies to the compounds R₃ECl (E = Si, Ge) that do not react with magnesium.__________Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 2234–2236, October, 2004.