We saw in lab that although iodine is a much bigger atom

Last updated: 7/28/2022

We saw in lab that although iodine is a much bigger atom than chlorine, iodine has a much lower conformational energy cost than chlorine as an axial substituent. What best explains this phenomenon? The very long carbon-iodine bond minimizes steric strain. The very long carbon-iodine bond minimizes torsional strain. The outermost electrons of iodine are much more dispersed and therefore strain energy is reduced. Olodine's heavier atomic weight allows it to reside further away from the chair structure.