Chemistry Conformation Stability of Ethane-1,2-Diol

AI Thread Summary
Torsional strain in ethane-1,2-diol arises from repulsive interactions between electron clouds, making rotation difficult. The presence of hydrogen bonds between alcohol groups allows them to attract each other, particularly in the gauche conformation. This configuration is more stable than the anti conformation due to the stronger hydrogen bonding when the OH groups are closer together. The hydrogen bonds effectively mitigate steric repulsion, facilitating easier rotation. Thus, the gauche conformation is favored for its enhanced stability.
EnricoHendro
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Homework Statement
Conformational studies on ethane-1,2-diol (HOCH2-CH2OH) have shown the most stable conformation about the central C-C bond to be the gauche conformation, which is 9.6kJ/mol more stable than the anti conformation. Explain the curious result.
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Hello there,
My attempted explanation/solution is :
“Torsional strain is caused by the tendency of the electron clouds in the interacting groups to repel each other, making it relatively difficult to rotate a group towards and through another group, as the repulsive force provides resistance to the rotation. However, in alcohol groups, we have H-O bond. This means that the alcohol groups in ethane-1,2-diol can form hydrogen bonds with each other, and therefore “pulling” one another towards each other (since intermolecular force is an attractive force). This hydrogen bond is stronger when ethane-1,2-diol is in gauche conformation, since both OH groups are closer than in anti. In a sense, it is easier to rotate the compound in gauche conformation due to the help from the Hydrogen Bond. This explains why gauche conformation of Ethane-1,2-diol is more stable than anti conformation.”

Is my attempted explanation correct?
 
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Sounds fine. More concise would simply be that the hydrogen bonding overcomes the steric repulsion in the gauche configuration.
 
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