In organic chemistry, ring strain is the tendency of a cyclic molecule, such as cyclopropane, to destabilize when its atoms are in non-favorable high energy spatial orientations. Non-cyclic molecules do not exhibit ring strain because their terminal (end) atoms are not connected to force a particular type of spatial orientation.
Ring strain results from a combination of angle strain, conformational strain or Pitzer strain, and transannular strain or van der Waals strain.
Read more about Ring Strain: Examples, Organic Synthesis, See Also
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