To a suspension of 108 mg (4.44 mmol) of magnesium and 765 mg (5.00 mmol) of trimethylgermyl chloride was added a solution of 644 mg (2.00 mmol) of 2-(3,5-dibromophenyl)-2-methyl-1,3-dioxolane in 10 ml of tetrahydrofuran at 40° C., stirred in an atmosphere of argon. The mixture was stirred at 70° C. for 4.5 hr. and at room temperature overnight. The reaction mixture was poured into ice-aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution and extracted with methylene chloride. The solvent was removed to give pale brown crystals, which were purified by column chromatography on silica gel [eluent: methylene chloride-n-hexane (1:1)] to give 514 mg (yield 65%) of 2-[3,5-bis(trimethylgermyl)phenyl]-2-methyl-1,3-dioxolane, m.p. 54° C., and 61 mg (yield 11%) of 2-(3-trimethylgermylphenyl)-2-methyl-1,3-dioxolane and 75 mg of the mixture, in which the ratio was 3:2 (by NMR).
