Hydrogen germanium hydrides

The hydrogen-donor ability of germanium hydrides has been studied123 and reviewed.124... 

The product is a crystalline solid which melts at about 98° and decomposes at 200° to form germanium hydrides, potassium borohydride, hydrogen, and germanium. In the presence of diborane(6), the following reaction is observed 84h... 

GERMANIUM HYDRIDE (7782-65-2) Flammable and poisonous gas. Pyrophoric ignites spontaneously in air. Violent reaction with oxidizers and halogens. Contact with water may cause ignition from evolution of hydrogen. 

This formerly was made by the action of adds on an alloy of magnesium with germanium. If aqueous adds are used, large quantities of hydrogen are produced and must be separated from the mixture of germanium hydrides furthermore, the yield of hydrides based on Ge is disappointing. Ammonia-system acids are more satisfactory the action of NHiBr on powder Mg-Ge alloy (3 parts Ge+2 parts Mg fused at 800°) suspended in liq. NH3 converts 60% to 70% of the Ge to the various hydrides, which are separated by distillation in a vacuum chain. Some GeH4 also is obtained from the thermal... 

Limited studies of the germanium and tin hydride analogs of the silicon hydrides show that they share this ability to function as hydride sources in ionic hydrogenations however, their relatively greater reactivity toward acids appears to restrict their practical applications in organic synthesis.24,25... 

This reaction exclusively leads to hydrides where hydrogen is cis to silicon or germanium and which are identical to those obtained by oxidative addition of Si-H or Ge-H complexes to (i/ -methylcyclopentadienyl)tricarbonylmanganese. 

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