An Isolable THF-Coordinated Dialkylgermanone.

A stable dialkylgermanone was generated by mixing a solid of the corresponding dialkylgermylene and gaseous N 2 O. While the dialkylgermanone is marginally persistent in solution and gradually converts to its head-to-tail dimer at room temperature, the addition of THF to the dialkylgermanone provided an isolable THF-coordinated dialkylgermanone. The THF-coordinated dialkylgermanone reacts with H 2 O, THF, and B(C 6 F 5 ) 3 similar to the corresponding base-free two-coordinate dialkylsilanone. The dialkylgermanone undergoes deoxygenation in the presence of triphenylphosphine to provide the corresponding germylene and olefination upon treatment with phosphaylide Ph 3 PCHPh to afford the corresponding Ge=C bond compound (germa-Wittig reaction).