Determining the σ-donor ability of the cyclopropane C–C bond

Abstract

The low temperature crystal structures of ester and ether derivatives of varying electron demand, derived from cyclopropylmethanol 8 and dicyclopropylmethanol 9, have been determined. These structures show a very strong response of the C–OR bond distance to the electron demand of the OR substituent, demonstrating the strong σ-donor ability of the strained C–C bonds in the cyclopropane ring.