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)2GeCl with potassium in THF to afford the reddish crystals of PhC(NtBu)22Ge2 (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 Å, which is very close to the single Ge−Ge interaction (2.61 Å) but significantly longer than that for typical digermenes, R2GeGeR2 (2.21−2.51 Å) and the two structurally characterized digermynes (2.2850 Å and 2.2060 Å), which proves that there is no multiple bond character in 2.