Boron trifluoride does not form a stable adduct with hexamethyldiger~noxane. Instead, cleavage of the Ge-0-Ge linkage occurs with quantitative formation of trimethylfluorogermane and boron trioxide. Trimethylmethoxygermane and boron trifluoride form a 1:l addition compound which sublimes without decomposition. Dative d,-p, bonding, if present in the Ge-0 linkage of trimethyln~ethoxygermane, does not appear to affect appreciably the electron-donor activity of the oxygen atom toward boron trifluoride. The preparation and some properties of CHaGeHpBr, CH3GeHC1?, (CH3)3GeC1, (CH3)3GeF, [(CH3)3Ge]20, and (CH3)3GeOCH3 are described.Boron trifluoride and organic ethers form 1 : l adducts of the type, R20,BF3, which are so stable that they can be distilled without decomposition (1). R/Iethyldisiloxanes, on the other hand, do not give stable addition coinpounds with boron trifluoride (2). Instead, cleavage of the Si-0-Si linkage occurs a t -78' in two stages:and the methylsiloxyboron difluoride formed in the first step is too unstable to be isolated. The experiments described in this paper were made to examine the interaction of boron trifluoride with the Ge-0-Ge and Ge-0-C linkages in hexamethyldigerrnoxane and trirnethylinethoxygerrnane respectively.
Preparation of Germyl EthersHexainethyldigerrnoxane, a new compound, was prepared in 61yo yield by the interaction of gaseous triinethylchlorogerrnane with dry silver carbonate:The same compound was probably obtained in the hydrolysis of trirnethylbrornogerrnane (3) and trirnethylchlorogerrnane (4), but it was not identified in these reactions. Hexaethyldigerrnoxane, the only simple digermoxane reported previously, has been prepared in 97y0 yield by hydrolysis of triethylbrornogerrnane with aqueous potassium hydroxide (5).By reaction with anhydrous sodiuin inethoxide, triinethylbroinogerinane was converted into trirnethylinethoxygermane in 98y0 yield, according to the reaction:Trirnethylmethoxygernlane had been obtained previously in 56y0 yield by the reaction of impure trirnethyliodogerrnane with sodium rnethoxide in methanol (6).We tried to prepare a partially inethylated digerrnoxane, such as l,lf-dirnethyldigernloxane, (CH3GeI-12)20, by the interaction of a methylhalogenogermane with silver carbonate. While preparing rnethylchlorogermane, CI-13GeH2CI, by the interaction of lManuscript