Subvalent Amides of Silicon and the Group 14 Metals

This survey is restricted to thermally robust (rather than transient) subvalent amides of the Group 14 elements thus advances in the chemistry of compounds in the +4 oxidation state are omitted, but some reviews which mention the topic (reviews on compounds in the +2 oxidation state also included) are available more specialised surveys are cited later. 

Metal Amide Chemistry Michael Lappert, Andrey Protchenko, Philip Power and Alexandra Seeber 

The photochemical synthesis and characterisation (by EPR solution spectra at 20 °C in C6H14) of the first stable trivalent germanium and tin amides M [N(SiMe3)2]3 was first reported in 1974 in solution they were shown to be persistent for more than three months at ambient temperature. An alternative synthesis from a tetravalent precursor for the Ge amide is shown in Equation (9.1) (X = Cl or Br).  

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