Plumbacyclopentadienylidenes, in which the lead atoms have divalent states and are coordinated by THF, pyridine and N-heterocyclic carbene, were synthesized and characterized. The THF- and pyridine-stabilized compounds can be regarded as rare examples of hypervalent 10-X-4 species. The equilibrium between the THF adduct and the free plumbacyclopentadienylidene was evidenced by spectroscopic analysis and theoretical calculations. The THF adduct in benzene converted into a plumbylene dimer, where one of the lead centers is coordinated by THF and the other lead atom is coordinated by a divalent lead atom, the dimer gradually decomposing into spiroplumbole. The THF adduct unexpectedly reacted with trifluoroborane and trichlorogallane to afford fluoroborole and chlorogallole, which are the first examples of non-annulated fluoroborole and gallole, respectively.

Plumbacyclopentadienylidenes  in which the lead atom is coordinated to a variety of Lewis bases, including THF, exhibit interesting behavior and reactivity. In their Full Paper on , M. Saito et al. show that the THF adduct, which is a rare example of a 10‐X‐4 species, reacts with trifluoroborane or trichlorogallane to afford fluoroborole and chlorogallole, respectively.

We succeeded in the alignment of π skeletons, resulting in the formation of anisotropic crystals. The combination of plumbacyclopentadienylidene, which has a divalent lead atom incorporated into the π skeleton, and 1,4-dioxane afforded a coordination polymer, where the π skeletons are completely aligned in the same direction. The resulting plumbylene chains are also aligned in the same direction in the solid state, and therefore the crystals are noncentrosymmetric, showing second-harmonic generation (SHG) properties. Using pyrazine instead of 1,4-dioxane afforded an adduct composed of three plumbole units and two pyrazine molecules, and the crystals are symmetric and exhibit no SHG properties. The solid-state structures and optical properties are highly dependent on the Lewis base utilized. The present findings spotlight the use of group 14 divalent species incorporated into a π skeleton as a novel, useful method for the creation of a π-aligned coordination polymer with NLO properties.