Reaction of (o-phenylene)magnesium (1) with CH3MCl2 (2; M = Al, Ga, In) gav
e access to the corresponding methyl(o-phenylene)metal compounds 3 ((1,2-C6
H4MCH3)(n)). These novel 1,2-dimetalated benzene derivatives of group 13 we
re characterized by their spectral data and, in the case of 3b (M = Ga, n =
2), by a single-crystal X-ray structure determination.