Penams have inflexible structures. The structure is locked in a puckered (i.e. bent) shape due to the pyramidal geometry of the bridgehead nitrogen. The pyramidalization (χ = 54°) and twist of the C-N bond (τ = 18°) is caused by the strain from the lone pair's exclusion from planarity with the cyclic rings and electrostatic repulsion effects. As a result, the distorted C-N bond causes misalignment the orbitals of the carbonyl carbon and the nitrogen lone pair that allow for resonance overlap. The amide C-N bond length is 1.406Å and displays greater single bond character than in noncyclic tertiary amides. The C-O bond length is 1.205Å which is shorter than C-O bonds in noncyclic tertiary amides.[3]
Penams are strained due to the angle strain on the four-member β-lactam ring, whose internal bond angles are 90º.[4][3] Consequently, penams are susceptible to acid- and base-catalyzed hydrolysis.[1][4]
^ abGlover, Stephen A.; Rosser, Adam A. (2012-06-14). "Reliable Determination of Amidicity in Acyclic Amides and Lactams". The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 77 (13): 5492–5502. doi:10.1021/jo300347k. ISSN0022-3263. PMID22646836.
^ abHu, Feng; Lalancette, Roger; Szostak, Michal (2016-03-08). "Structural Characterization of N-Alkylated Twisted Amides: Consequences for Amide Bond Resonance and N−C Cleavage". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 55 (16): 5062–5066. doi:10.1002/anie.201600919. ISSN1433-7851. PMID26953809.