Study on the electronic effect on coordinating donors in heptacoordinate trichlorogermanes

Trichloro[tris(2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)methyl]germane (1a), trichloro[tris(3-fluoro-6-methoxyphenyl)methyl]germane (1b), and trichloro[tris(2-methoxy-5-trifluoromethylphenyl)methyl]germane (1c) were synthesized. X-ray crystallographic analyses of 1a–c revealed their heptacoordinate geometries around the germanium atoms. The interatomic distances between the oxygen atoms and the central germanium atoms in the crystalline state were not significantly affected by change of functional groups on the benzene rings, while the optimized structures by theoretical calculations and Atoms in Molecules (AIM) analysis indicated linear relationship between the donating ability of functional groups and the O⋯Ge interatomic interactions.