Theory of mixed backbone scrambling as exemplified by exchange of chlorine and bridging sulfur atoms between dimethylgermanium and dimethylsilicon

Abstract

Cyclic and small linear molecules result from the scrambling of chlorine with bridging sulfur atoms between dimethylgermanium and dimethylsilicon moieties. The pertinent equilibria are treated in terms of stochastic graph theory as extended to mixed-backbone molecules. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance of the non-exchangeable methyl groups bonded to silicon and germanium atoms shows that at equilibrium in this system there is a preference for the chlorine atoms to be bonded to the silicon rather than to the germanium in the chain molecules which are in equilibrium with five different cyclic molecules