Question

What are the differences between conformation and configuration?

Answer 1

The structure of the molecule depends on the electronic configuration of the related atoms and the bond formed between the atoms. The molecular structure depends on the nature of bond formation and interaction of atoms which may change in conformation.

Complete answer: There are some major differences between the conformation of a molecule and the configuration of the given molecule. The configuration of a specific molecule can be defined by permanent geometry of the structure. The structure is based on the spatial arrangement of the atoms which are involved in the formation of the molecules. Therefore, a permanent geometry of the molecule exists showing that there is only one configuration. But the conformation differs for every given molecule because there can be multiple conformations in which a single molecule exists. This is based on the rotatory character of the atoms and the conformation changes based on the single-bonded molecules. There are few basic differences between these two characters of any given molecule. The conformations of any molecule can be infinite because the rotational characters of the atoms can be infinite. But the configuration is the permanent geometry of the element and hence there can only be one configuration. Configuration can never be converted to different forms as they are permanent three-dimensional structures based on the arrangement of atoms. There can be multiple conformations and they can be interconvertible among one another. Configurations are the main structures and hence they can be subjected to the formation of ionic components while there can be different conformation which is non-ionizable.

Note: The stable conformation of the molecule is based on the one where the lowest energy level can be present. This is the conformation in which the molecule mainly exists in nature and that defines the nature in which the molecules can actively participate in the reactions.