Camphene is a colorless, crumbly crystalline
solid with a camphor-like odor. It has a tendency
to sublime.
(+)-Camphene is part of a mixture which is responsible for the anti-inflammatory effect of essential oil from Citrus aurantium L. var. amara Engl.
The extraction of camphene by distillation of
turpentine is now hardly used in industry. Instead camphene is produced from a-pinene.
ChEBI: A camphene (2,2-dimethyl-3-methylenebicyclo[2.2.1]heptane) that has R configuration at position 1 and S configuration at position 4.
Camphene is stable in air and light. At elevated temperatures, in the presence of oxygen, it undergoes autoxidation to camphenilone. Peracids attack the double bond, giving camphene oxide. Catalytic hydrogenation gives the saturated hydrocarbon isocamphane.
