Ground-state stereoelectronic effects involving silicon and germanium: A comparison of the effects of germanium and silicon substituents on C-O bond lengths at the beta-position

Results of low-temperature crystal structures for beta-(trimethylgermyl)-substituted cyclohexyl esters and beta-(trimethylsilyl)-substituted cyclohexyl esters are reported. These reveal that the trimethylgermyl substituent causes significant lengthening of ester C-O bond lengths at the beta position when compared to the corresponding unsubstituted cyclohexyl esters. Comparison of trimethylgermyl and trimethylsilyl ester C-O bond lengths suggests that the ground state effects of these two substituents are similar.