Base-assisted conversion of protonated d-fructose to 5-hmf: searching for gas-phase green models
A gas-phase investigation of the D-fructose dehydration reaction in the presence of base has been performed by the joint application of mass spectrometric techniques and theoretical calculations. Protonated addition products of D-fructose and base were generated in the gas phase by electrospray ionization using several bases of different proton affinity. The intermediates, products and decomposition channels were investigated by ion trap mass spectrometry.