Substitution Effects on the Photochemistry of 1,1-Diarylgermacyclobutanes and the Reactivity of Transient 1,1-Diarylgermenes

Abstract

<p> 1,1-Bis(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)germacyclobutane and 1,1-bis(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)germacyclobutane have been prepared, and their photochemistry studied by steady state and nanosecond laser flash photolysis (NLFP) techniques. Photolysis of the two compounds in the presence of methanol leads to the formation of products resulting from reaction of the alcohol with two germanium-containing reactive intermediates, the germenes and germylenes.</p> <p> The reactivities of the two germenes with nucleophiles such as alcohols, carboxylic acids, and amines have been examined by NLFP techniques, and the results are compared to analogous data for 1,1-diphenylgermene and 1,1-diphenylsilene. Germene reactivity is shown to increase with increasing electron-withdrawing power of the substituents, consistent with a mechanism initiated by nucleophilic attack at germanium. The increased electrophilicity of the substituted 1,1-diarylgermenes results in kinetic behavior indistinguishable from that of 1,1-diphenylsilene, indicating that germenes and silenes form a mechanistic continuum in their reactions with nucleophiles.</p>