Conformational study of the open-chain and furanose structures of d-erythrose and d-threose

► 174 d-erythrose and 170 d-threose open-chain minima fall within a 50 kJ/mol range. ► Between 14 and 22 minima are found for erythro and threofuranose configurations. ► AIM and NBO largely agree on which molecular fragments are involved in hydrogen bonding.