An ab initio Molecular Orbital Study of the Conformational Properties of all-(Z)-Cyclododeca-1,4,7,10-tetraene

Summary.  Ab initio HF/6-31G^* and MP2/6-31G^*//HF/6-31G^* methods were used to calculate the structure optimization and conformational interconversion pathways for all-(Z )-cyclododeca-1,4,7,10-tetraene. This compound adopts the symmetrical crown (C _4v) conformation. Ring inversion takes place via symmetrical intermediates, such as boat-chair (BC, C _s) and twist (C _2h) conformers and requires about 22.3 kJ · mol⁻¹. The calculated strain energies for BC and twist conformers are 5.9 and 13.5 kJ · mol⁻¹. The results of semiempirical AM1 calculations for structural parameters and relative energies of the important geometries of the title compound are in good agreement with the results of ab initio methods. Received July 9, 2001. Accepted September 26, 2001