Open-Shell Germylene Stabilized by a Phenalenyl-Based Ligand.

An open-shell germylene stabilized by a phenalenyl-based bidentate ligand was synthesized and characterized. Because of the high thermal stability originating from spin delocalization over the phenalenyl moiety, it was possible to isolate compound in crystalline form by sublimation at ca. 300 °C. Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra, crystallographic analysis, theoretical calculations, and reactivities with carbon radicals suggest that the spin of is distributed on the phenalenyl moiety, while reacted with CCl, PhSSPh, and -benzoquinone at the germanium center to form Ge-E (E = Cl, S, O) bonds. Furthermore, compound is featured by its reactivity as a "formal germylyne", which allows for the formation of three new σ-bonds or one σ-bond with metal complexation on the germanium center.