Quantum chemical and experimental study of 1,2,4-trihydroxy-para-menthane

The conformational analysis of the para-menthane (PM) and 1,2,4-trihydroxy-para-menthane (TPM) is performed using the quantum chemical density functional theory (DFT) and ab initio Møller-Plesset perturbation theory up to the second order (MP2). In TPM, three hydroxyl groups generate eight stereoisomers comparing to the four para-menthane stereoisomers. From the thermodynamics point of view, the most preferred conformations show the chair-shaped configuration of the cyclohexane ring. The obtained energy barriers for the isopropyl group rotation in the chair-shaped stereoisomers are between 35 and 45 kJ mol−1. The crystal structure as well as the solvated TPM stereoisomer isolated from the Tea tree oil, Melaleuca alternifolia (Maiden & Betche) Cheel, were investigated experimentally. Isolated stereoisomer corresponds to the most energetically preferred conformation and the calculated structural data agree very well with the results from the X-ray and nuclear magnetic resonance measurements. Finally, the influence of the conformation and the presence of the intramolecular hydrogen bonds on the homolytic OH bond dissociation enthalpies and proton affinities were also discussed with respect to the simple alcohols (methanol, iso-propanol, iso-pentanol, tert-butanol, cyclohexanol) and phenol.