Nucleophilic addition of tri-2-furylgermane to aldehydes and α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds in the presence of a catalytic amount of base

Nucleophilic addition of tri-2-furylgermane to various aldehydes and α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds in the presence of a catalytic amount of base such as tBuOK and Cs2CO3 afforded α-hydroxy germanes and β-germyl carbonyl compounds, respectively, in good to excellent yields. The reaction of aldehydes proceeded with high chemoselectivity under mild conditions, so α-hydroxy germanes bearing various functional groups were obtained effectively. α-Hydroxy germanes could be converted into acylgermanes by Swern oxidation.