Organic Chemistry/Chirality/Configurations
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Configuration and conformation[edit | edit source]
Conformation is the set of possible shapes a molecule can have by means of rotation about single bonds only.
Configuration is the relative position of the atoms in a molecule that can be changed exclusively by cleaving and forming new chemical bonds.
Isomers have different configurations, although the distinction may be blurred in compounds where steric hindrance occurs.