Thermal decomposition of methyl α-d-glycopyranosides

Thermal analysis, coupled with chemical studies, indicates that methyl α-d-glycopyranosides undergo thermal decomposition in two overlapping stages. At lower temperatures, the major reaction is loss of the methoxyl group as methanol, and intra- or inter-molecular condensation of the glycosyl portion of the molecule. At higher temperatures, the predominant reaction is fragmentation of the transglycosylation products. Both reactions were found to be dependent on the configuration of the starting methyl α-d-glycopyranoside.