ISSN 1017-2548(Print)
ISSN 2234-8530(Online)
Volume 26, Number 2
JKCSEZ 26(2)
April 20, 1982 

STO-3G level computations were performed on n-propylamine, n-propylamine radical and cis-and trans-ethylene diamines in order to investigate structural contributions of (nπ/m) and (n-σ*) structures to the energy variations accompanying the conformational changes. It was found that (5π/5) and (4π/4) structures had attractive and repulsive nonbonded interactions, respectively, which were approximately additive. anti(n-σ*) structures had more stabilzing hyperconjugative interactions than syn(n-σ*) structures, but due to the large internuclear repulsion the net effect was destabilizing inthe former in contrast with the net stabilizing contribution in the latter. Moreover it was found that the stabilizing π-nonbond structure, (5π/5) was always cooperatively reinforced by the more stabilizing anti(n-σ*) interaction, whereas the destabilizing (4π/4) structure was accompanied by the less stabilizing syn(n-σ*) interaction. This type of cooperativity was found general through-bond interaction of the terminal lone pair lobes split the energy levels into two, n+ = 1/√2 (n1 ＋ n2) and n- = 1/√2 (n1 － n2), the latter being the lower level, which can be shown using simple overlap patterns of the two lobes with a common vicinal σ* orbital.