Arylgermanium halides

Perhaps the most common method for the preparation of hexaorgano-digermanes is a Wurtz coupling of triorganogermanium halides with sodium (142, 145-148). The method may be employed with both alkyl- and arylgermanium halides. In the case of hexamethyldigermane, a satisfactory... 

Addition of an excess of organolithium or organomagnesium reagents to germanium halides results in the deplacement of the halide ions and the formation of tetra-alkyl and -arylgermanium compounds. Representative examples of these reactions are shown in equations 4 and 5, respectively. 

Although germanium-carbon bonds of allyl, alkenyl, and arylgermanium compounds are cleaved by action of electrophiles such as bromine or trifluoroacetic acid to afford the corresponding halides (eq (78)) [75] or hydrocarbons (eq (79)) [76], like organosilicon compounds, the synthetic utility of these reactions are largely limited by the unavailability of starting materials. 

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