Germanium transition-metal complexes clusters

The single-bond compounds between Si, Ge, and Sn and chalcogens (S, Se, Te) are reactive and used as synthetic intermediates in the synthesis of organic compounds, organochalcogen compounds, organo-silicon, -germanium and -tin compounds, and transition metal-chalcogen complexes and clusters. 

A few clusters of interest containing germanium and transition metals have been reported.136-138 Dimethylgermane was found to replace only the bridging carbonyls between cobalt in a mixed germanium/cobalt/iron cluster complex (Equation (107)), and replacement of the carbonyl bridging the iron metal centers was not observed.137 A similar reaction leads to replacement of a bridging carbonyl in a mixed cobalt/silicon cluster (Equation (108)).136... 

There are a sufficiently large number of complexes, mainly of germanium, containing more than one type of transition metal, to warrant a separate discussion some examples have already been mentioned (viz. 38 and 57). Mackay and Nicholson (89,91) have described the reaction between [Fe2-(CO)8(//-GeH2)2] and [Co2(CO)8], which affords the mixed cobalt-iron clusters [Fe2(CO)8 /i-Ge(Co2(CO)7) 2], 82, and [Fe2(CO)7 /i-Ge(Co2-(CO)7) 2], 83, the latter having been characterized by X-ray diffraction. This is isoelectronic with the iron-germanium cluster, 63, and both adopt very similar structures. 

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