Draw Newman and Sawhorse projections for the eclipsed and staggered conformations of ethane. Which of these conformations is more stable and why?
(i) Sawhorse projections of ethane
(ii) Newman projections of ethane
Stability of conformation:
(i) There are minimum repulsive forces, minimum energy and maximum stability in the staggered form of ethane. Here, the electrons clouds of carbon-hydrogen bonds are as far as possible.
(ii) the electron clouds come closer when the staggered form changes to the eclipsed form. It results in increased electron cloud repulsions. Here, molecules will have more energy and lesser stability.
Therefore, the staggered form is more stable.