Ring strain

In organic chemistry, ring strain is a type of instability that exists when bonds in a molecule form angles that are abnormal. Strain is most commonly discussed for small rings such as cyclopropanes and cyclobutanes, whose internal angles are substantially smaller than the idealized value of approximately 109°. Because of their high strain, the heat of combustion for these small rings is elevated.

Ring strain results from a combination of angle strain, conformational strain or Pitzer strain, and transannular strain, also known as van der Waals strain or Prelog strain. The simplest examples of angle strain are small cycloalkanes such as cyclopropane and cyclobutane. Furthermore, there is often eclipsing in cyclic systems which cannot be relieved.

In alkanes, optimum overlap of atomic orbitals is achieved at 109.5°. The most common cyclic compounds have five or six carbons in their ring.Adolf von Baeyer received a Nobel Prize in 1905 for the discovery of the Baeyer strain theory, which was an explanation of the relative stabilities of cyclic molecules.

Angle strain occurs when bond angles deviate from the ideal bond angles to achieve maximum bond strength in a specific chemical conformation. Angle strain typically affects cyclic molecules, which lack the flexibility of acyclic molecules.

Angle strain destabilizes a molecule, as manifested in higher reactivity and elevated heat of combustion. Maximum bond strength results from effective overlap of atomic orbitals in a chemical bond. A quantitative measure for angle strain is strain energy. Angle strain and torsional strain combine to create ring strain that affects cyclic molecules.

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