Brønsted basicity in the context of protonation-induced rearrangement

Key Points

• To differentiate between true basicity and stabilization effects due to rearrangements in ring-strained molecules.
• Conducted G4 ab initio calculations to analyze proton affinity.
• Examined criteria for proton affinity including microscopic reversibility and bond integrity.
• Established that rearrangements influence perceived basicity of molecules.
• Confirmed that true basicity is distinct from stabilization due to structural changes.