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Geometric Isomerism

Geometric isomers are chemical species that have the same chemical formula but different spatial arrangements of atoms or groups. They can occur when double bonds or ring structures prevent free rotation. In cis isomers, functional groups are on the same side of a bond, while in trans isomers they are on opposite sides. Cis isomers generally have higher melting points, lower solubility, and less symmetry than trans isomers due to differences in their dipole moments. Examples are given of cis and trans dichloroethene and platinum complexes.

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58 views3 pages

Geometric Isomerism

Geometric isomers are chemical species that have the same chemical formula but different spatial arrangements of atoms or groups. They can occur when double bonds or ring structures prevent free rotation. In cis isomers, functional groups are on the same side of a bond, while in trans isomers they are on opposite sides. Cis isomers generally have higher melting points, lower solubility, and less symmetry than trans isomers due to differences in their dipole moments. Examples are given of cis and trans dichloroethene and platinum complexes.

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Amaka Stephanie
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Isomers are chemical species that have the same chemical formulas, yet are

different from one another. Geometric isomers are chemical species with the same
type and quantity of atoms as one another, yet having different geometric
structures. In geometric isomers, atoms or groups exhibit different spatial
arrangements on either side of a chemical bond or ring structure. Geometric
isomerism is also called configurational isomerism or cis-trans isomerism.

Geometric or Cis-Trans Isomers

 Geometric or cis-trans isomerism describes the spatial arrangement of atoms


within molecules that have the same chemical formulas.
 Geometric isomers are compounds that contain either double bonds or ring
structures that prevent functional groups from freely rotating around a
chemical bond.
 In a cis isomer, the functional groups are on the same side of a chemical
bond.
 In a Trans isomer, the functional groups are on opposite or transverse sides
of a bond.
Cis and Trans Geometric Isomers
The terms cis and Trans are from the Latin words cis, meaning "on this side"
and Trans, meaning "on the other side." When substituents are both oriented in the
same direction as each other—on the same side–the diastereomer is called cis.
When the substituents are on opposing sides, the orientation is trans. (Note that cis-
trans isomerism is a different description of geometry than E-Z isomerism.)

Cis and Trans geometric isomers exhibit different properties, including boiling
points, reactivities, melting points, densities, and solubility. Trends in these
differences are attributed to the effect of the overall dipole moment. The dipoles of
Trans substituents cancel each other out, while the dipoles of cis substituents are
additive. In alkenes, Trans isomers have higher melting points, lower solubility,
and greater symmetry than cis isomers.
CIS ISOMER

TRANS ISOMER

Identifying Geometric Isomers

Skeletal structures maybe written with crossed lines for bonds to indicate
geometric isomers. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
(IUPAC) does not recommend the crossed line notation anymore, preferring wavy
lines connecting a double bond to a heteroatom. When known, the ratio of cis- to
trans- structures should be indicated. Cis- and trans- are given as prefixes to
chemical structures.

Examples of Geometric Isomers


Two geometric isomers exist for Pt(NH3)2Cl2, one in which the species are
arranged around the Pt in the order Cl, Cl, NH3, NH3, and another in which the
species are ordered NH3, Cl, NH3, Cl.

In cis-1,2-dichloroethene, the two chlorine atoms are the functional groups and
they are both on the same side of the carbon-carbon double bond. In trans-1,2-
dichloroethene, the chlorine atoms are on opposite sides of the double bond. In this
example, the cis isomer has a boiling point of 60.3 °C. The Trans isomer has a
boiling point of 47.5 °C.

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