Pentafluoroethylated Compounds of Silicon, Germanium and Tin

Abstract In this contribution we present an account on pentafluoroethylated compounds of silicon, germanium and tin. The pronounced electron‐withdrawing effect of the pentafluoroethyl group leads to a markedly increased Lewis acidity at the central atom which results in the stabilization of hypervalent complexes, anionic element(II) species as well as remarkable reactivities of element‐element and element‐hydrogen bonds. By addition to unsaturated C−C bonds or by reaction with organic halides as well as transition‐metal complexes the molecules bearing a pentafluoroethyl‐element group are readily accessible. Moreover, the utilization of pentafluoroethyl groups facilitates the formation of donor‐stabilized germylenes and stannylenes. A series of such compounds serves as suitable pentafluoroethylation reagents. Conversely to the well‐studied trifluoromethyl derivatives these compounds frequently exhibit a higher thermostability, which allows a more convenient handling.