Pseudo-One-Coordinate Tetrylenium Salts Bearing a Bulky Carbazolyl Substituent

Syntheses of a bulky carbazole-based substituent, the parent 1,8-bis(3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl)-3,6-di-tert-butyl-carbazole (R?H) and a series of chlorotetrylenes, RECl (E=Ge, Sn, Pb), are described. Detailed analysis of the properties of the carbazole-based substituent revealed that it features flexible high bulkiness and electronic non-innocence, which may make it suitable for many applications in both main-group and transition-metal chemistry. To further showcase the employability of the novel substituent, the chlorotetrylenes were subjected to halide abstraction reactions, affording the corresponding tetrylenium salts RE]Al(OC₄F₉)₄] (E=Ge, Sn, Pb) as strongly coloured compounds.