Gas-phase acidity of D-glucose. A density functional theory study

The gas‐phase acidity of D‐glucopyranose was studied by means of B3LYP calculations combined with 6–31G(d,p) or 6–31+G(d,p) standard basis sets. For each anomer, deprotonation of the various primary and secondary hydroxyl groups was considered. As in solution, the anomeric hydroxyl is found to be the most acidic for both anomers, but only when the 6–31+G(d,p) basis set is used for geometry optimization. Deprotonation of the anomeric hydroxyl induces an important C(1)O endocyclic bond elongation and subsequently promotes an energetically favored ring‐opening process as attested by the very small calculated activation barriers. The results also suggest that interconversion between the various deprotonated α‐ and β‐anomers may easily occur under slightly energetic conditions. B3LYP/6–311+G(2df,2p) calculations led to the an absolute gas‐phase acidity of ΔacidGo298(α‐D‐glucose) = 1398 kJ mol−1. This estimate matches well the only experimental value available to date. Finally, this study again confirms that the use of diffuse functions on heavy atoms is necessary to describe anionic systems properly and to achieve good relative and absolute gas‐phase acidities