Hydrogermylation of Alkenes via Organophotoredox-Initiated HAT Catalysis

This Letter discloses the straightforward hydro-germylation of olefins under visible-light organophotoredox-initiated HAT catalysis conditions to yield primary and secondary alkyl germanes at room temperature. The protocol is operationally simple, metal-free, and tolerant of various functional groups. The synthesized alkyl germanes proved to be highly robust toward acidic, basic, or oxidizing conditions and chemical transformations of C-sp(2)-GeEt3 or C-sp(2)-BPin functionalities in their presence.

Automated summary

This method is a simple, metal-free approach that is tolerant of various functional groups in the hydro-germylation of olefins. The synthesized alkyl germanes exhibit high stability towards acidic, basic, or oxidizing conditions.