Steric vs Electronic Effects: A New Look into Stability of Diastereomers, Conformers and Constitutional Isomers

A quantum chemical investigation of the stability of compounds with identical formulas was carried out on 23 classes of halogenated compounds made of H, F, Cl, Br, I, C, N, P, O and S atoms. The prevalence of formula in which its Z configuration, gauche conformation and meta isomer are the most stable forms is calculated and discussed. The prevalence data shows that in compounds made of carbon backbones, the electronic effect is weaker than the steric effect. The electronic factor is more important as the backbone atoms are replaced with atoms on the right and upper part of the periodic table.