On the Bonding in N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes of Germanium(II)

A series of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes of Ge(II) were synthesized and structurally characterized. Unlike previous observations, the carbenic carbon-germanium bond length does not vary systematically with the electronic demands of the substituents on the germanium center. Computational analysis of the energetic and structural metrics of model compounds is consistent with a lack of a substituent effect on the carbenic carbon-germanium bond length.