Condensed-phase effects on the conformational equilibrium of ethylene glycol

Density functional calculations for ethylene glycol (CH₂OHCH₂OH) in the gas and in a dielectric medium are reported. The condensed-phase calculations are based on the self-consistent reaction field approach and the environment has the dielectric constant of liquid methanol. NPT Monte Carlo simulations of ethylene glycol (ETG) in liquid methanol are also reported. The simulations were carried out for three conformers of ETG (tGg′, gGg′, and tTt). Comparison between SCRF results for the conformational equilibrium in the gas and in the dielectric suggests that the tGg′ conformer is slightly stabilized relative to the gGg′ conformer in the solvent. However, the energy difference between them is less the 1.0 kJ/mol, which indicates that frequent interconversions between the tGg′ and gGg′ conformers are expected in the condensed phase. The all-trans conformer (tTt) is higher than the most stable conformer in the gas by 14 kJ/mol. Monte Carlo simulations predict that the tGg′ and gGg′ conformers have very similar energies in the solvent. However, the simulations also show, in agreement with experimental data, that the tTt conformer is stabilized in liquid methanol, relative to the gas phase. The microscopic mechanism leading to the stabilization of the tTt conformer in the liquid is related to the differential hydrogen-bonding formation between the ETG conformers and the methanol molecules. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.