Core excitation spectroscopy of stable cyclic diaminocarbenes, -silylenes, and -germylenes

A number of tert-butyl-substituted, cyclic, saturated and unsaturated diaminocarbene, diaminosilylene, and diaminogermylene compounds were investigated using inner shell electron energy loss spectroscopy (ISEELS) and ab initio calculations. These compounds, each of which contains a divalent group 14 element (C, Si, Ge), are of particular interest since they are stable indefinitely, and thus, they are readily accessible for detailed spectroscopic analysis. The C 1s and N 1s spectra of the hydrogenated tetravalent analogues of the saturated carbene, of di-tert-butyldiazabutadiene, and of di-tert-butyldiazabutane were also obtained to assist with spectral interpretation. Our analysis shows that there is significant pi-allyl delocalization over the N-E-II-N fragment in all three species. Further, in the unsaturated species there is additional aromatic delocalization. Both theory and experiment indicate that the divalent center of the carbene is qualitatively different from that in the germylenes or silylenes.