Why is the chair the most stable conformation in the cyclohexanes?

1 Answer
Dr. Hayek
Sep 19, 2015

Chair is more stable than boat because... see explanation

Explanation:

In both conformations chair and boat, the bond angle is #109.5^@# which eliminates the angular strain in the cyclohexane structure. However, why chair is more stable than boat?

The answer is because of the torsional and steric strains which are more present in a boat conformation.

This video explains in details the conformation energy of cycloalkanes:

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