A possible approach to determination of the preferred conformations in substituted saturated seven-membered rings

A qualitative approach to the assessment of the preference of the stereoisomers, by means of which it is possible appreciably to restrict the range of investigated alternative conformations, is proposed on the basis of the relationships governing the change in the orientation of the substituents during pseudorotation in saturated seven-membered rings. The applicability of the developed approach was demonstrated for the stereoisomers of di- and trialkyl-substituted 1,3-dioxepanes.