Direct Detection of Dimethylstannylene and Tetramethyldistannene in Solution and the Gas Phase by Laser Flash Photolysis of 1,1-Dimethylstannacyclopent-3-enes

The photochemistry of 1,1-dimethyl- and 1,1,3,4-tetramethylstannacyclopent-3-ene (4a and 4b, respectively) has been studied in the gas phase and in hexane solution by steady-state and 193-nm laser flash photolysis methods. Photolysis of the two compounds results in the formation of 1,3-butadiene (from 4a) and 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene (from 4b) as the major products, suggesting that cycloreversion to yield dimethylstannylene (SnMe2) is the …