Conformer Energy
Conformer Energy - Related Videos
01:20
Conformity
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2020
Conformity is the change in a person’s behavior to go along with the group, even if that person does not agree with the group. Asch’s Original Study Solomon Asch conducted several experiments in the 1950s to determine how people are affected by the thoughts and behaviors of other people. In one study, a group of participants was shown a series of printed line segments of different lengths: a, b, and c. Participants were then shown a fourth line segment: x. They were asked to identify which...
08:55
A Minority of One: Conformity to Group Norms
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2023
Source: William Brady & Jay Van Bavel—New York University It is obvious that we are influenced by those around us, but in the early to mid 1900's, psychologists began to study how potent social influence can be on our thoughts and behaviors. Motivated in part by attempts to explain the behaviors of Nazi soldiers in World War II, one topic of considerable interest at the time in psychology was conformity, the phenomenon in which people match their attitudes, behaviors, or beliefs to group...
10:37
Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters
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Cited by 3 •
2014
We present a technique that allows the spatial separation of different conformers or clusters present in a molecular beam. An electrostatic deflector is used to separate species by their mass-to-dipole moment ratio, leading to the production of gas-phase ensembles of a single conformer or cluster stoichiometry.
06:39
Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)
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2023
Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) is a phenomenon used to investigate close-range biochemical interactions. In FRET, a donor photoluminescent molecule can non-radiatively transfer energy to an acceptor molecule if their respective emission and absorbance spectra overlap. The amount of energy transferred—and consequently the overall emission of sample—depends on the proximity of an acceptor-donor pair of photoluminescent molecules. FRET analysis is combined with other biochemistry...
02:20
Conformations of Butane
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2025
Unlike ethane and propane that have only two major conformations, butane has more than two conformers. The staggered form of butane in which the bulky methyl groups on the two carbons are placed on opposite sides, that is, at a dihedral angle of 180°, is the lowest energy, most stable form — called the anti conformer. This conformation is stabilized due to the absence of steric repulsion between the largely spaced out methyl groups. The other two staggered conformations are degenerate and have...
FAQs
Several contributions can shift the relative energy of a conformer. Steric repulsion raises energy when parts of the molecule become crowded, while torsional strain reflects unfavorable rotation about single bonds. Electrostatic interactions and intramolecular hydrogen bonding can either increase or decrease the energy. Considering these effects together explains why changing a dihedral angle produces a nonuniform energy profile.
Rotating around a single bond changes the molecule’s dihedral angles and can alter several interactions at once. As the angle changes, groups may experience different steric contacts, torsional strain, electrostatic relationships, or opportunities for intramolecular hydrogen bonding. The resulting energy changes identify relatively favorable and unfavorable arrangements, helping relate molecular flexibility to conformer populations and chemical behavior.
Energy differences determine the relative abundance of conformers through Boltzmann relationships. Lower-energy arrangements are generally associated with greater populations, whereas higher-energy arrangements contribute less under the same conditions. Estimating these populations allows chemists to move beyond listing possible conformations and evaluate which molecular shapes are most likely to influence observed chemical behavior or measurements.
Intramolecular hydrogen bonding is one of the interactions that can modify a conformer’s potential energy. When a particular arrangement favors this internal interaction, it may become more energetically favorable than alternatives that cannot support it. Its effect must be evaluated alongside steric repulsion, torsional strain, and electrostatic interactions because the preferred shape reflects their combined balance rather than one factor alone.
A useful analysis begins by considering the distinct arrangements accessible through rotation about single bonds and the dihedral angles that distinguish them. Each arrangement is then assessed for steric, torsional, electrostatic, and intramolecular hydrogen-bonding effects. Relative energies can support population estimates through Boltzmann relationships, producing a basis for assigning the conformations most relevant to further chemical interpretation.
Conformer energy analysis helps determine which molecular arrangements are sufficiently populated to matter when interpreting spectroscopic observations or assigning stereochemistry. By relating relative energies to likely populations, chemists can evaluate whether a proposed shape is plausible and whether alternative conformers should be considered. This provides structural context for connecting molecular geometry with experimental chemical behavior.
The analysis is especially useful when molecular flexibility affects how a structure binds or transforms. Comparing conformer energies identifies shapes that may be more populated before a chemical event or more relevant to a binding arrangement. In computational modeling, these comparisons help researchers assess flexible structures while also informing predictions about reactivity and other consequences of molecular shape.