1.
2.
Frenking, G. et al. New bonding modes of carbon and heavier group
14 atoms Si-Pb. Chem. Soc. Rev. 43, 5106–5139 (2014).
Frenking, G., Hermann, M., Andrada, D. M. & Holzmann, N. Donoracceptor bonding in novel low-coordinated compounds of boron
and group-14 atoms C-Sn. Chem. Soc. Rev. 45, 1129–1144 (2016).
Nature Communications | (2023)14:4519
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
Yao, S., Xiong, Y. & Driess, M. A new area in main-group chemistry:
zerovalent monoatomic silicon compounds and their analogues.
Acc. Chem. Res. 50, 2026–2037 (2017).
Zhao, L. L., Hermann, M., Holzmann, N. & Frenking, G. Dative
bonding in main group compounds. Coord. Chem. Rev. 344,
163–204 (2017).
Majhi, P. K. & Sasamori, T. Tetrylones: an intriguing class of
monoatomic zero-valent group 14 compounds. Chem. Eur. J. 24,
9441–9455 (2018).
Nesterov, V. et al. NHCs in main group chemistry. Chem. Rev. 118,
9678–9842 (2018).
Yao, S., Xiong, Y., Saddington, A. & Driess, M. Entering new chemical space with isolable complexes of single, zero-valent silicon
and germanium atoms. Chem. Commun. 57, 10139–10153 (2021).
Wang, Y. et al. A stable silicon(0) compound with a Si=Si double
bond. Science 321, 1069–1071 (2008).
Wang, Y. & Robinson, G. H. Carbene-stabilized main group diatomic
allotropes. Dalton Trans. 41, 337–345 (2012).
Wang, Y. & Robinson, G. H. N-Heterocyclic carbene-main-group
chemistry: a rapidly evolving field. Inorg. Chem. 53,
11815–11832 (2014).
Doddi, A., Peters, M. & Tamm, M. N-Heterocyclic carbene adducts
of main group elements and their use as ligands in transition metal
chemistry. Chem. Rev. 119, 6994–7112 (2019).
Frenking, G. Dative bonds in main-group compounds: a case for
more arrows! Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 53, 6040–6046 (2014).
Himmel, D., Krossing, I. & Schnepf, A. Dative bonds in main-group
compounds: a case for fewer arrows! Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 53,
370–374 (2014).
Himmel, D., Krossing, I. & Schnepf, A. Dative or not dative? Angew.
Chem. Int. Ed. 53, 6047–6048 (2014).
Krebs, K. M. et al. Phosphine-stabilized digermavinylidene. J. Am.
Chem. Soc. 141, 3424–3429 (2019).
Wilhelm, C., Raiser, D., Schubert, H., Sindlinger, C. P. & Wesemann,
L. Phosphine-stabilized germasilenylidene: source for a siliconatom transfer. Inorg. Chem. 60, 9268–9272 (2021).
Wang, Y. et al. Carbene-stabilized disilicon as a silicon-transfer
agent: synthesis of a dianionic silicon tris(dithiolene) complex.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 59, 8864–8867 (2020).
Koike, T., Nukazawa, T. & Iwamoto, T. Conformationally switchable
silylone: electron redistribution accompanied by ligand reorientation around a monatomic silicon. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 143,
14332–14341 (2021).
Chen, M., Zhang, Z., Qiao, Z., Zhao, L. & Mo, Z. An isolable bis(germylene)-stabilized plumbylone. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 62,
e202215146 (2023).
Tokitoh, N. Synthesis of aromatic species containing a heavier
group 14 element by taking advantage of kinetic stabilization. Bull.
Chem. Soc. Jpn. 77, 429–441 (2004).
Mizuhata, Y., Fujimori, S., Sasamori, T. & Tokitoh, N. Germabenzenylpotassium: a germanium analogue of a phenyl anion. Angew.
Chem. Int. Ed. 56, 4588–4592 (2017).
Fujimori, S., Mizuhata, Y. & Tokitoh, N. Heavy phenyllithium and
-sodium: synthesis and characterization of germanium analogues of
phenyl anion (‘germabenzenyl anions’). Chem. Lett. 47,
708–710 (2018).
Fujimori, S., Mizuhata, Y. & Tokitoh, N. Stannabenzenylpotassium:
the first isolable tin-containing benzene derivative. Chem. Eur. J. 24,
17039–17045 (2018).
Fujimori, S., Mizuhata, Y. & Tokitoh, N. Ru-complexes of an anionic
germabenzenyl ligand. Chem. Commun. 54, 8044–8047 (2018).
Mizuhata, Y., Fujimori, S. & Tokitoh, N. Reaction of germabenzenylpotassium with TBDMSCl: unusual trimerization of germabenzene skeletons. Phosphorus, Sulfur Silicon Relat. Elem. 195,
936–939 (2020).
Article
26. Li, Y., Wang, H. & Li, X. Over one century after discovery: pyrylium
salt chemistry emerging as a powerful approach for the construction of complex macrocycles and metallo-supramolecules. Chem.
Sci. 11, 12249–12268 (2020).
27. Sasamori, T. et al. Synthesis and characterization of a 1,2-digermabenzene. Organometallics 34, 2106–2109 (2015).
28. Simons, R. S., Pu, L., Olmstead, M. M. & Power, P. P. Synthesis and
characterization of the monomeric diaryls M{C6H3-2,6-Mes2}2 (M =
Ge, Sn, or Pb; Mes = 2,4,6-Me3C6H2–) and dimeric aryl–metal
chlorides [M(Cl){C6H3-2,6-Mes2}]2 (M = Ge or Sn). Organometallics
16, 1920–1925 (1997).
29. Sasamori, T., Sugiyama, Y., Takeda, N. & Tokitoh, N. Structure and
properties of an overcrowded 1,2-dibromodigermene. Organometallics 24, 3309–3314 (2005).
30. Hayakawa, N. et al. 1,2-Dihalodigermenes bearing bulky Eind
groups: synthesis, characterization, and conversion to halogermylenoids. Dalton Trans. 47, 814–822 (2018).
31. Maeda, S., Ohno, K. & Morokuma, K. Systematic exploration of the
mechanism of chemical reactions: the global reaction route mapping (GRRM) strategy using the ADDF and AFIR methods. Phys.
Chem. Chem. Phys. 15, 3683–3701 (2013).
32. Knizia, G. Intrinsic atomic orbitals: an unbiased bridge between
quantum theory and chemical concepts. J. Chem. Theory Comput.
9, 4834–4843 (2013).
33. Knizia, G. & Klein, J. E. Electron flow in reaction mechanisms–
revealed from first principles. Angew. Chem. Int Ed. 54,
5518–5522 (2015).
34. Gleiter, R. & Haberhauer, G. Aromaticity and Other Conjugation
Effects (Wiley-VCH, 2012).
35. Ishida, Y., Sekiguchi, A. & Kabe, Y. 1,4,5-Trigermabicyclo[2.1.0]pent2-en-5-ylium: the isolable bishomocyclopropenylium ion containing a heavier group 14 element. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 125,
11468–11469 (2003).
36. Gerdes, C., Saak, W., Haase, D. & Müller, T. Dibenzosilanorbornadienyl cations and their fragmentation into silyliumylidenes. J. Am.
Chem. Soc. 135, 10353–10361 (2013).
37. Dong, Z., Reinhold, C. R., Schmidtmann, M. & Müller, T. A germylene stabilized by homoconjugation. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 55,
15899–15904 (2016).
38. Dong, Z., Reinhold, C. R. W., Schmidtmann, M. & Müller, T. A stable
silylene with a σ2, π- butadiene ligand. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 139,
7117–7123 (2017).
39. Reinhold, C. R. W. et al. A one-step germole to silole transformation
and a stable isomer of a disilabenzene. Chem. Eur. J. 24,
848–854 (2018).
40. Wakita, K., Tokitoh, N., Okazaki, R. & Nagase, S. Synthesis and
properties of an overcrowded silabenzene stable at ambient temperature. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 39, 634–636 (2000).
41. Märkl, G., Lieb, F. & Merz, A. A new synthesis of phosphabenzene
derivatives. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 6, 458–459 (1967).
42. Märkl, G. 2,4,6-Triphenylphosphabenzene. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.
Engl. 5, 846–847 (1966).
43. Baker, R. J., Jones, C., Mills, D. P., Pierce, G. A. & Waugh, M. Investigations into the preparation of groups 13–15 N-Heterocyclic carbene analogues. Inorg. Chim. Acta 361, 427–435 (2008).
44. Nied, D., Klopper, W. & Breher, F. Pentagerma[1.1.1]propellane: a
combined experimental and quantum chemical study on the nature
of the interactions between the bridgehead atoms. Angew. Chem.
Int. Ed. 48, 1411–1416 (2009).
45. Ito, Y. et al. Spirobis(pentagerma[1.1.1]propellane): a stable tetraradicaloid. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 135, 6770–6773 (2013).
46. Heider, Y. & Scheschkewitz, D. Stable unsaturated silicon clusters
(siliconoids). Dalton Trans. 47, 7104–7112 (2018).
Nature Communications | (2023)14:4519
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40188-y
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP19H05635
(N.T. and Y.M.), JP20K20447 (N.T.), JP19H05528 (N.T.), JP18H01963
(Y.M.), and JP16H04110 (N.T.) and Integrated Research Consortium on
Chemical Science (IRCCS). Y.M. gratefully acknowledges ISHIZUE 2022
of Kyoto University. This study was supported by the Joint Usage/
Research Center [JURC, Institute for Chemical Research (ICR), Kyoto
University] by providing access to a Bruker Avance III 600 NMR spectrometer. We are furthermore grateful for the computation time, which
was provided by the Super Computer Laboratory (ICR, Kyoto University).
Elemental analyses were carried out at the Microanalytical Laboratory of
the ICR (Kyoto University). The authors thank Prof. Masahiro Yamanaka
(Rikkyo Univ.) for the helpful discussion about computational studies.
Preliminary X-ray diffraction data of 5-2 and 6·NHC were collected at the
BL02B1 beamline of SPring-8 (JASRI, 2022A1621 and 2022A1200).
Author contributions
Y.M., R.N., and N.T. determined the research strategy, and R.N. and R.S.
performed the synthetic experiments. R.N. collected the physical
properties and spectral data of all compounds appearing in this paper.
R.N. and Y.M. performed the X-ray crystallographic analyses and theoretical calculations. Y.M., N.T., and R.W. supervised the work. All authors
co-wrote the paper.
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Supplementary information The online version contains
supplementary material available at
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40188-y.
Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to
Norihiro Tokitoh or Yoshiyuki Mizuhata.
Peer review information Nature Communications thanks the anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work. A
peer review file is available.
Reprints and permissions information is available at
http://www.nature.com/reprints
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing,
adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as
long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the
source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if
changes were made. The images or other third party material in this
article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless
indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not
included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended
use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted
use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright
holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/.
© The Author(s) 2023
...