A Theoretical Approach To the Acid-catalyzed Hydration of the Carbonyl Group - the Case of Formaldehyde

The analysis of the hydration of formaldehyde in the presence of a hydrated proton was performed. Molecular quantum chemistry methods were used to explore the potential energy hypersurface. Calculations were performed at RHF-4-31G level. The structures were obtained through the use of first and second derivatives of the potential energy hypersurface thereby guaranteeing the nature of the extremum. The incidence of one or two water molecules on the reaction is discussed. It has been found that a low energy reaction path exists when the hydration process is catalyzed by a proton and two water molecules. The reaction mechanism rests on successive addition/elimination processes and reveals the respective roles of the oxygen lone pairs and of the C = O double bond upon the mechanism