Conversion of the neutral 1,1-dichloro-DPGI(
1) (DPGI = 2,3-diphenyl-1-germaindene) to the lithiumdianion (
2a) or sodium dianion (
2b) leads to the highlyunusual phenomenon of aromatization of the GeC
4portion of 1-germaindene at the expense of the aromaticannulated C
6 ring. Treatment of
2a with trimethylchlorosilane gave the 1,1-bis(trimethylsilyl)-DPGI derivative(
3) in high yield. The structure of
2a was determined byX-ray crystallography and found to possess two
5-coordinated lithium ions. The five-membered ring of thegermaindenyl system undergoes significant carbon-carbon bond equalization upon formation of the dianion,while the remaining four carbon atoms become diene-like, exhibiting two short bonds separated by a longbond.