Central atom size effect on the structure of group 14 tetratolyls

Abstract

Size matters! The structure and dynamics of the tetratolyl Group 14 elements, which were probed by using high-resolution inelastic neutron scattering spectra, show a remarkable dependence on the size of the central atom. The para-methyl groups at the periphery of the molecules constitute the frontier intermolecular interactions of increasingly larger tetrahedra, which becomes critical at the molecular radius of the Si and Ge analogues. © 2009, Wiley-VCH Verlag Berlin