From ortho-phenylenemagnesium (1), 9-phenyl-9-germa-10-silatriptycene
(5) was prepared via a simple one pot procedure. The previously prepar
ed 9-methyl-10-phenyl-9,10-digermatriptycene (4) and 5 are the first g
ermanium-containing 9,10-dimetallatriptycenes to be structurally chara
cterised. The availability of these structural data allows a comparati
ve discussion of 9,10-dimetallatriptycenes of Group 14. (C) 1998 Elsev
ier Science B.V.