LAUSR

Abstract The cis-trans conformational equilibrium of amides is of interest because it can be used to control functional activity. Here, we designed and synthesized a series of N-(3-thienyl)amides in order to study the factors affecting their conformational equilibrium. NMR studies showed that the major conformer of N-methyl-N-(3-thienyl)amide in solution is the E-form (cis form), as is the case for N-methylacetamide. For N-aryl-N-(3-thienyl)amides bearing an N-phenyl moiety, the major conformers differ depending on not only the relative π-electron density of the N-aryl moiety, but also its size. X-ray analysis showed that their solid-state conformational preferences were similar to those in solution.