Sterically Crowded Gold Germylene Compounds with Methyl and Hydride Substituents

This work explores the combination of sterically crowded low-valent germanium compounds bearing one or two terphenyl (C6H3-2,6-Ar-2) substituents with gold fragments, the latter stabilized by crowded phosphines also containing a terphenyl moiety. The steric protection of these motifs has allowed to examine a series of unusual gold-germylene compounds featuring small hydride and methyl substituents at the germanium site. A gold-germylene dicationic structure is also reported. The bonding in this series is investigated by computational means, providing understanding for the two-way transfer of electrons from germanium to gold and vice versa.