The interaction of water with sulfonium ions and the effects of hydration on the energetics of methyl group transfer: An ab initio molecular orbital study of the hydration of (CH3)3S+ and (CH3)2S+CH2CO2 −

The interactions of the sulfonium ions (CH₃)₃S⁺, (CH₃)₂S⁺CH₂CO₂^–, and (CH₃)₂S⁺-CH₂CH₂CO₂^– with up to four water molecules have been studied by ab initio molecular orbital methods. Complexes of (CH₃)₃S⁺ with one to three water molecules involve strong electrostatic sulfur-oxygen interactions; in contrast, the sulfide (CH₃)₂S interacts with water molecules via weak S-H hydrogen bonds, suggesting that methyl-group transfer from (CH₃)₃S⁺ in aqueous solution involves a significant alteration of the hydration pattern around the sulfur atom. Two conformers of (CH₃)₂S⁺CH₂CO₂^– were found that display sulfur-oxygen distances which are approximately 0.3 å less than the sum of the sulfur and oxygen van der Waals radii, indicating a strong intramolecular electrostatic interaction. For the complexes (CH₃)₂S⁺CH₂CO₂^–·nH₂O(n =1–4), water interacts primarily with the carboxylate group via hydrogen bonds, rather than electrostatically with the sulfur atom, although in complexes with the three- and four-water complexes, the proximity of the positively charged sulfur atom to the carboxylate group significantly alters the hydration pattern compared to that in the corresponding of complexes CH₃SCH₂CO₂^–· Thus, methyl transfer from (CH₃)₂S⁺CH₂CO₂^– to an acceptor in aqueous solution also involves substantial changes in the hydration pattern around the carboxylate group.