Conformational Isomerism - Equilibrium Population of Conformers

Equilibrium Population of Conformers

The population of different conformers follows a Boltzmann distribution:

 \frac{N_i}{N_{total}}
=
\frac {e^{-E_{rel}/RT}} {\sum_{k=1}^{N_{total}} e^{-E_k/RT} }

The left hand side is the equilibrium ratio of conformer i to the total. is the relative energy of the i-th conformer from the minimum energy conformer. is the relative energy of the k-th conformer from the minimum energy conformer. R is the molar ideal gas constant equal to 8.31 J/(mol·K) and T is the temperature in kelvins (K). The denominator of the right side is the partition function.

Read more about this topic:  Conformational Isomerism

Famous quotes containing the words equilibrium and/or population:

    They who feel cannot keep their minds in the equilibrium of a pair of scales: fear and hope have no equiponderant weights.
    Horace Walpole (1717–1797)

    O for a man who is a man, and, as my neighbor says, has a bone in his back which you cannot pass your hand through! Our statistics are at fault: the population has been returned too large. How many men are there to a square thousand miles in this country? Hardly one.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)