+2 lead hydride is world’s first

The first lead hydride with the oxidation state +2 has been made by German researchers, filling a gap in the low-valent hydrides of group 14 elements. +4 hydrides such as silane (SiH₄) and plumbane (PbH₄) have long been a staple of inorganic chemistry. Although the corresponding bivalent hydrides, such as SiH₂, are more unstable, most have been studied trapped in a matrix or coordinated to organic ligands. However, a +2 hydride of lead has been markedly absent from the line-up.