What is anti conformation?
Beside this, what is gauche conformation?
Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry - Gauche. Gauche: The relationship between two atoms or groups whose dihedral angle is more than 0o (i.e., eclipsed) but less than 120o (i.e., the next eclipsed conformation). A conformation which has one or more gauche interactions is can be called a gauche conformation.
Similarly one may ask, what is the difference between gauche and anti?
Gauche is when the large atoms are staggered adjacent to each other (60 degrees) and anti is when the large atoms are opposite each other (180 degrees). Both are staggered but the names gauche and anti tell you the different energies of the conformations.
In terms of stability, the staggered conformation is more stable than the eclipses. This is for two reasons: 1) Steric hindrance. In the eclipsed conformation, the positioning of the atoms forces them closer together, increasing the amount of steric strain in the molecule.