A silylene-stabilized heterodiatomic SiGe molecule

Abstract

Diatomic molecules composed of group 14 elements are of significant interest because they present opportunities for exploring new frontiers in chemical bonding, reactivity, and materials design. Typically, these molecules are highly unstable and are primarily observed in the gas phase. To date, heterodiatomic molecules of group 14 elements have not been successfully isolated in condensed phases despite their importance in materials science and electronics. In this study, we successfully synthesized a heterodiatomic silicon-germanium (SiGe) molecule, characterized by a Si=Ge double bond and two lone pairs of electrons located on the Si and Ge atoms, by using an N-heterocyclic imino-substituted silylene. The SiGe molecule undergoes versatile chemical transformations, including transferring the Si(0) or Ge(0) fragments, deprotonating the C–H bond in N-tosylimine, and reacting with acrylonitrile, to construct valuable SiGe-containing compounds. This research provides critical insights into the electronic structure and reactivity of heterodiatomic main-group complexes.