Ab initio and density functional evaluations of the molecular conformations of beta-caryophyllene and...

The four conformations of beta-caryophyllene (alphaalpha, alphabeta, betaalpha, and betabeta) were investigated ab initio at the 6-31G/HF and MP2 levels and additionally with density functional methods (B3LYP/6-31G), as it concerns their relative thermodynamic stabilities. The alphaalpha is predicted to be the most stable geometry, in agreement with low-temperature NMR measurements. In the case of 6-hydroxycaryophyllene, the alphaalpha is still the most stable conformation when the configuration at C-6 is S, but when the configuration is reversed to R the betabeta geometry becomes the most stable one. This is again in agreement with NMR data. On the other hand, for both molecules the AM1 semiempirical model Hamiltonian fails to predict the alphaalpha as a low-energy geometry, mainly due to an incorrect description of the cyclobutane ring puckering. The interconversion paths among the different minima are also analyzed and discussed. The solvent effect (either chloroform or water) on the stability of the different conformers of beta-caryophyllene and 6-hydroxycaryophyllene was studied in the polarizable continuum model framework.