Abstract Ditrielanes R* 2 E− ER* 2 (R*= SitBu 3; E= Al, In, Tl), R′ 2 E− ER′ 2 (R′= SitBu 2 Ph; E= In, Tl) and R* 2 Ga− GaR*(SiMe 3) are prepared in alkanes (i) from ECl 3 (E= Al, In, Tl) and NaR* via isolable R* 2 ECl (reaction of GaCl 3 and NaR* leads to R* 2 GaGaR* instead of R* 2 Ga− GaR* 2),(ii) from EBr (E= In, Tl) and NaR* or NaR′(reaction of AlBr or GaBr and NaR* leads to R* 4 Al 4 or R* 8 Ga 18 and R* 8 Ga 22),(iii) from NaGa 2 R* 3 ...