Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry
Electrostatic interaction (
van der Waals
interaction):
The attractive or repulsive interaction between objects having electric charges.
Electrostatic attraction (shown in red) between the
δ
+
and
δ
-
ends of a
polar covalent N-H bond
allow for
hydrogen bonding
and
base pairing
within the
DNA
double helix
.
Electrostatic repulsion (also called
van der Waals
repulsion) between
electron clouds
is the cause of
steric hindrance
in an
S
N
2 reaction
transition state
.
Related terms:
Electrostatic potential map
,
electropositive
,
electrophile
,
electrophilic addition reaction
,
electrophilic aromatic substitution
,
noncovalent molecular force
,
adenine
,
thymine
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