Torsional strain, conformational

Conformations m which the torsion angles between adjacent bonds are other than 60° are said to have torsional strain Eclipsed bonds produce the most torsional strain staggered bonds none Because three pairs of eclipsed bonds are responsible for 12 kJ/mol (2 9 kcal/mol) of torsional strain m ethane it is reasonable to assign an energy cost of 4 kJ/mol (1 kcal/mol) to each pair In this chapter we 11 learn of additional sources of strain m molecules which together with torsional strain comprise steric strain... 

At Its most basic level separating the total strain of a structure into its components is a qualita tive exercise For example a computer drawn model of the eclipsed conformation of butane using ideal bond angles and bond distances (Figure 3 8) reveals that two pairs of hydrogens are separated by a distance of only 175 pm a value considerably smaller than the sum of their van der Waals radii (2 X 120 pm = 240 pm) Thus this conformation is destabilized not only by the torsional strain associ ated with its eclipsed bonds but also by van der Waals strain... 

Neighboring C—H bonds are eclipsed in any planar cy cloalkane Thus all planar conformations are destabi lized by torsional strain... 

A second but much less stable nonplanar conformation called the boat is shown in Eigure 3 14 Like the chair the boat conformation has bond angles that are approximately tetrahedral and is relatively free of angle strain It is however destabi hzed by the torsional strain associated with eclipsed bonds on four of its carbons The... 

The difference m energy between the staggered and eclipsed forms is due almost entirely to the torsional strain m the eclipsed conformation At any instant almost all the molecules of ethane reside m the staggered con formation... 

Neither conformation suffers torsional strain because each has a stag gered arrangement of bonds The gauche conformation is less stable because of van der Waals strain involving the methyl groups... 

Section 3 7 Three conformations of cyclohexane have approximately tetrahedral angles at carbon the chair the boat and the skew boat The chair is by far the most stable it is free of torsional strain but the boat and skew boat are not When a cyclohexane ring is present m a compound it almost always adopts a chair conformation... 

In cyclic systems such as 1, the dominant conformation is the one with the maximum anomeric effect. In the case of 1, only conformation lA provides the preferred antiperiplanar geometry for both oxygens. Antiperiplanar relationships are indicated by including lone pairs in the oxygen orbitals. Other effects, such as torsional strain and nonbonded repulsion, contribute to the conformational equilibrium, of course. Normally, a value of about 1.5 kcal/mol is assigned to the stabilization due to an optimum anomeric interaction in an acetal. 

Torsional strain refers to the component of total molecular energy that results from nonoptimal arrangement of vicinal bonds, as in the eclipsed conformation of ethane. The origin and stereoelectronic nature of torsional strain were discussed in Section 1.1.1. The... 

Cyclobutane has less angle strain than cyclopropane and can reduce the torsional strain that goes with a planai geometry by adopting the nonplanai puckered conformation shown in Figure 3.11. 

FIGURE 3.14 (a) A ball-and-spoke model and (h) a space-filling model of the boat conformation of cyclohexane. Torsional strain from eclipsed bonds and van der Waals strain involving the "flagpole" hydrogens (red) make the boat less stable than the chair. 

Cyclohexane adopts a strain-free, three-dimensional shape, called a chair conformation because of its similarity to a lounge chair, with a back, a seat, and a footrest (Figure 4.7). Chair cyclohexane has neither angle strain nor torsional strain—all C—C-C bond angles are near 109°, and all neighboring C-H bonds are staggered. 

In addition to the chair conformation of cyclohexane, a second arrangement called the twist-boat conformation is also nearly free of angle strain. It does, however, have both sleric strain and torsional strain and is about 23 kj/mol (5.5 kcal/mol) higher in energy than the chair conformation. As a result, molecules adopt the twisl-boat geometry only under special circumstances. 

Cyclobutanc, angle strain in. 115-116 conformation of. 115-116 molecular model of, 116 photochemical synthesis of, 1190 strain energy of, 114 torsional strain in, 115-116 Cyclodecane, strain energy of. 114 Cyclodecapentaene, molecular model of, 525, 540... 

In the transition state, the torsional strain involving the partially formed bond between the nucleophile and the carbonyl group represents a substantial fraction of the total strain, even when the degree of bonding is low. Thus, in the case of acyclic carbonyl compounds, a staggered conformation is preferred in the transition state (Figure 6). 

Similar to cyclohexanones, substituted cyclopentanones also adopt a conformation with the substituents in a sterically favorable position. In the case of 2-substituted cyclopentanones 1 the substituent occupies a pseudoequatorial position and the diastereoselectivity of nucleophilic addition reactions to 1 is determined by the relative importance of the interactions leading to predominant fra s(equatorial) or cw(axial) attack of the nucleophile. When the nucleophile approaches from the cis side, steric interaction with the substituent at C-2 is encountered. On the other hand, according to Felkin, significant torsional strain between the pseudoaxial C-2—H bond and the incipient bond occurs if the nucleophile approaches the carbonyl group from the trans side. 

These examples illustrate the issues that must be considered in analyzing the stereoselectivity of enolate alkylation. The major factors are the conformation of the enolate, the stereoelectronic requirement for an approximately perpendicular trajectory, the steric preference for the least hindered path of approach, and minimization of torsional strain. In cyclic systems the ring geometry and positioning of substituents are often the dominant factors. For acyclic enolates, the conformation and the degree of steric discrimination govern the stereoselectivity. 

Torsional strain increases as oxygen passes through an eclipsed conformation... 

In a similar way the potential constant method as described here allows the simultaneous vibrational analysis of systems which differ in other strain factors. Furthermore, conformations and enthalpies (and other properties see Section 6.5. for examples) may be calculated with the same force field. For instance, vibrational, conformational, and energetic properties of cyclopentane, cyclohexane and cyclodecane can be analysed simultaneously with a single common force field, despite the fact that these cycloalkanes involve different distributions of angle and torsional strain, and of nonbonded interactions 8, 17). This is not possible by means of conventional vibrational spectroscopic calculations. 

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