RGe(I)Ge(I)R Compound (R = PhC(NtBu)2)with a Ge-Ge Single Bond and a Comparison with the Gauche Conformation of Hydrazine

This article reports the reduction of the chloride [PhC(NtBu)(2)]GeCl with potassium in THF to afford the reddish crystals of [PhC(NtBu)(2)](2)Ge-2 (2). The molecule of 2 contains a Ge-Ge bond. The X-ray structure and DFT calculation indicate that the Ge-Ge bond possesses an unusual gauche-bent geometry. The Ge-Ge bond length in 2 is 2.570 angstrom, which is very close to the single Ge-Ge interaction (2.61 angstrom) but significantly longer than that for typical digermenes, R2GeGeR2 (2.21-2.51 angstrom) and the two structurally characterized digermynes (2.2850 angstrom and 2.2060 angstrom), which proves that there is no multiple bond character in 2.