Migration of <i>para</i>‐Nitrophenyl Groups in Methyl Pyranosides: Configuration and Conformation Determine the Kinetics

para-Nitrophenyl (PNP) ethers of glycosides are important building blocks en route to functional carbohydrates. They are stable in neutral media, however, under basic conditions such as during the Zemplén deacylation of sugars, aryl migration is frequently observed. We have employed a library of O-PNP-substituted methyl glycosides of the manno-, galacto-, gluco- and altro-series to study the kinetics of aryl migration in MeOH/sodium methoxide using NMR spectroscopy revealing that migration between cis-oriented OH groups is faster than between trans-oriented ones. The rate constants of migration decrease in the order of Alt>Man>Gal>Glc and are related to the energy barriers of chair conformation inversion. The energy profile of the 3 to 4-PNP migration in methyl mannoside was calculated using DFT methods suggesting the Meisenheimer complex is an intermediate of PNP migration and that coordination of the sodium cation has a major impact on the energy profile.