RESUMO
Bis-NHC stabilized germyliumylidenes [RGe(NHC)2 ]+ are typically Lewis basic (LB) in nature, owing to their lone pair and coordination of two NHCs to the vacant p-orbitals of the germanium center. However, they can also show Lewis acidity (LA) via Ge-CNHC σ* orbital. Utilizing this unique electronic feature, we report the first example of bis-NHC-stabilized germyliumylidene [Mes TerGe(NHC)2 ]Cl (1), (Mes Ter=2,6-(2,4,6-Me3 C6 H2 )2 C6 H3 ; NHC= IMe4 =1,3,4,5-tetramethylimidazol-2-ylidene) catalyzed reduction of CO2 with amines and arylsilane, which proceeds via its Lewis basic nature. In contrast, the Lewis acid nature of 1 is utilized in the catalyzed hydroboration and cyanosilylation of carbonyls, thus highlighting the versatile ambiphilic nature of bis-NHC stabilized germyliumylidenes.
RESUMO
The first acceptor-free heavier germanium analogue of an acylium ion, [RGe(O)(NHC)2]X (R = MesTer = 2,6-(2,4,6-Me3C6H2)2C6H3; NHC = IMe4 = 1,3,4,5-tetramethylimidazol-2-ylidene; X = (Cl or BArF = {(3,5-(CF3)2C6H5)4B}), was isolated by reacting [RGe(NHC)2]X with N2O. Conversion of the germa-acylium ion to the first solely donor-stabilized germanium ester [(NHC)RGe(O)(OSiPh3)] and corresponding heavier analogues ([RGe(S)(NHC)2]X and [RGe(Se)(NHC)2]X) demonstrated its classical acylium-like behavior. The polarized terminal GeO bond in the germa-acylium ion was utilized to activate CO2 and silane, with the former found to be an example of reversible activation of CO2, thus mimicking the behavior of transition metal oxides. Furthermore, its transition-metal-like nature is demonstrated as it was found to be an active catalyst in both CO2 hydrosilylation and reductive N-functionalization of amines using CO2 as the C1 source. Mechanistic studies were undertaken both experimentally and computationally, which revealed that the reaction proceeds via an N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) siloxygermylene [(NHC)RGe(OSiHPh2)].
