The effect of electrostatic interactions on conformational equilibria of multiply substituted tetrahydropyran oxocarbenium ions

The three-dimensional structures of dioxocarbenium ions related to glycosyl cations were determined by an analysis of spectroscopic, computational, and reactivity data. Hypothetical low-energy structures of the dioxocarbenium ions were correlated with both experimentally determined ¹H NMR coupling constants and diastereoselectivity results from nucleophilic substitution reactions. This method confirmed the pseudoaxial preference of C-3 alkoxy-substituted systems and revealed the conformational preference of the C-5 alkoxymethyl group. Although the monosubstituted C-5 alkoxymethyl substituent preferred a pseudoequatorial orientation, the C-5-C-6 bond rotation was controlled by an electrostatic effect. The preferred diaxial conformer of the trans-4, 5-disubstituted tetrahydropyranyl system underscored the importance of electrostatic effects in dictating conformational equilibria. In the 2-deoxymannose system, although steric effects influenced the orientation of the C-5 alkoxymethyl substituent, the all-axial conformer was favored because of electrostatic stabilization.