Measurements of Nuclear Magnetic Shielding in Molecules.

The origin of nuclear magnetic shielding in diamagnetic molecules is discussed, pointing out various contributions to the shielding from electrons and the effects of intra- and intermolecular interactions. In NMR practice, chemical shifts are determined first as the measure of shielding in observed samples. The descriptions of shielding and chemical shifts are not fully consistent. Gas phase studies permit the withdrawal of intermolecular contributions from shielding and obtaining the magnetic shielding data in isolated molecules. The shielding determination in molecules is possible using at least three methods delivering the reference shielding standards for selected nuclei. The known shielding of one magnetic nucleus can be transferred to other nuclei if the appropriate nuclear magnetic moments are available with satisfactory accuracy. It is possible to determine the nuclear magnetic dipole moments using the most advanced ab initio shielding calculations jointly with the NMR frequencies measurements for small-sized isolated molecules. Helium-3 gas is postulated as all the molecules' primary and universal reference standard of shielding. It can be easily applied using common deuterium lock solvents as the secondary reference standards. The measurements of absolute shielding are available for everyone with the use of standard NMR spectrometers.

Searching for the Best Values of NMR Shielding and Spin-Spin Coupling Parameters: CH4-nFn Series of Molecules as the Example.

Attempts at the theoretical interpretation of NMR spectra have a very long and fascinating history. Present quantum chemical calculations of shielding and indirect spin-spin couplings permit modeling NMR spectra when small, isolated molecules are studied. Similar data are also available from NMR experiments if investigations are performed in the gas phase. An interesting set of molecules is formed when a methane molecule is sequentially substituted by fluorine atoms-CH4-nFn, where n = 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4. The small molecules contain up to three magnetic nuclei, each with a one-half spin number. The spectral parameters of CH4-nFn can be easily observed in the gas phase and calculated with high accuracy using the most advanced ab initio methods of quantum chemistry. However, the presence of fluorine atoms makes the calculations of shielding and spin-spin coupling constants extremely demanding. Appropriate experimental 19F NMR parameters are good but also require some further improvements. Therefore, there is a real need for the comparison of existing NMR measurements with available state-of-the-art theoretical results for a better understanding of actual limits in the determination of the best shielding and spin-spin coupling values, and CH4-nFn molecules are used here as the exceptionally important case.

NMR shielding in helium-3 atoms modified by gaseous nitrogen and oxygen.

Helium-3 nuclear magnetic resonance (3 He NMR) measurements were carried out for the gaseous mixtures of helium-3 with pure nitrogen and synthetic air as the solvents. It was found that 3 He shielding is linearly dependent on solvent density up to approx. 6 mol/L. At higher density of the gaseous solvent, the change of 3 He shielding is nonlinear and especially distinct when helium-3 atoms can interact with two O2 molecules. The interaction with paramagnetic oxygen molecules can induce two kinds of 3 He shielding changes: (1) due to the isotropic Fermi contact interaction and (2) from the dipolar magnetic interaction between unpaired O2 electrons and 3 He nuclear magnetic dipole moment. The two paramagnetic effects in helium-3 shielding cannot be experimentally separated, although for such small molecular objects, they could be presumably modeled by advanced theoretical calculations.

1H, 13C and 29Si magnetic shielding in gaseous and liquid tetramethylsilane.

Tetramethylsilane (TMS) is well-known as a reference standard of 1H, 13C and 29Si NMR chemical shifts. In the present study, we have observed TMS molecules in gaseous and liquid solutions. In the gas phase, the shielding parameters of TMS are monitored as the functions of density when xenon and krypton are applied as the buffer gases. It permits the evaluation of shielding in an isolated TMS molecule which is determined from the measurements of frequency and available nuclear magnetic moments. Having the shielding constants of an isolated TMS molecule, it is possible to proceed with the evaluation of 1H, 13C and 29Si TMS shielding in liquid state, which is extremely useful for the complete referencing of NMR spectra for protons, carbon-13 and silicon-29 nuclei. Consequently, the readings of chemical shifts and shielding parameters can be practically performed in the same experiment.

17O and 1H NMR spectral parameters in isolated water molecules.

Small amounts of water enriched in oxygen-17 were studied by 17O and 1H NMR in binary gaseous mixtures with Xe, Kr, CHF3 and CH3F and CO2. The distinct linear dependences of 17O and 1H chemical shifts and 1J(17O,1H) spin-spin coupling on the density of every gas solvent were measured. After the extrapolation of experimental results to zero density the relevant parameters in the isolated H217O molecule were determined. The same procedure was applied for H216O when its proton chemical shift was analyzed but the secondary isotope effect in the 1H shielding of H217O and H216O molecules was too small for detection. As shown, all the intermolecular effects in nuclear magnetic shielding are negative and these effects are more significant for 17O nuclei than for protons. It is consistent with the appropriate gas-to-liquid shifts of water which also indicate deshielding effects for both the investigated nuclei. On the other hand, the 1J0(17O,1H) coupling constant in H217O, which is completely free from intermolecular interactions, considerably differs from the 1J(17O,1H) experimental values obtained for water in liquid solutions. The present experimental data of the isolated H217O molecule are compared with selected results of shielding and spin-spin coupling calculations available from the literature and with the recent experimental data for a water molecule encapsulated in the C60 fullerene. Additionally, on the basis of actual results the magnetic dipole moment of the 17O nucleus is revalued for greater accuracy.

NMR absolute shielding scale and nuclear magnetic dipole moment of (207)Pb.

An absolute shielding scale is proposed for (207)Pb nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. It is based on ab initio calculations performed on an isolated tetramethyllead Pb(CH3)4 molecule and the assignment of the experimental resonance frequency from the gas-phase NMR spectra of Pb(CH3)4, extrapolated to zero density of the buffer gas to obtain the result for an isolated molecule. The computed (207)Pb shielding constant is 10 790 ppm for the isolated molecule, leading to a shielding of 10799.7 ppm for liquid Pb(CH3)4 which is the accepted reference standard for (207)Pb NMR spectra. The new experimental and theoretical data are used to determine µ((207)Pb), the nuclear magnetic dipole moment of (207)Pb, by applying the standard relationship between NMR frequencies, shielding constants and nuclear moments of two nuclei in the same external magnetic field. Using the gas-phase (207)Pb and (reference) proton results and the theoretical value of the Pb shielding in Pb(CH3)4, we find µ((207)Pb) = 0.59064 µN. The analysis of new experimental and theoretical data obtained for the Pb(2+) ion in water solutions provides similar values of µ((207)Pb), in the range of 0.59000-0.59131 µN.

Spin-rotation and NMR shielding constants in HCl.

The spin-rotation and nuclear magnetic shielding constants are analysed for both nuclei in the HCl molecule. Nonrelativistic ab initio calculations at the CCSD(T) level of approximation show that it is essential to include relativistic effects to obtain spin-rotation constants consistent with accurate experimental data. Our best estimates for the spin-rotation constants of (1)H(35)Cl are CCl = -53.914 kHz and C(H) = 42.672 kHz (for the lowest rovibrational level). For the chlorine shielding constant, the ab initio value computed including the relativistic corrections, σ(Cl) = 976.202 ppm, provides a new absolute shielding scale; for hydrogen we find σ(H) = 31.403 ppm (both at 300 K). Combining the theoretical results with our new gas-phase NMR experimental data allows us to improve the accuracy of the magnetic dipole moments of both chlorine isotopes. For the hydrogen shielding constant, including relativistic effects yields better agreement between experimental and computed values.

Nuclear magnetic shielding for hydrogen in selected isolated molecules.

We present the results of gas-phase NMR measurements designed to yield a new experimental value for the absolute (1)H magnetic shielding for an isolated hydrogen molecule and its deuterium isotopomers. The results are based on the original method of direct shielding measurements (Jackowski et al., 2010) and the density dependence of (1)H, (2)H, and (3)He NMR frequencies for molecular hydrogen and atomic helium-3. The absolute isotropic magnetic shielding measured for molecular hydrogen, σ(0)(H(2)), is 26.293(5) ppm at 300 K, within experimental error of previous measurements based on spin-rotation data and quantum chemistry computations, 26.289(2) ppm (Sundholm and Gauss, 1997), and recent ab initio calculations. We also report isotope effects in shielding for H(2), HD, and D(2) molecules that are consistent with theoretical predictions. In addition, gas-phase (1)H chemical shifts extrapolated to zero density have been measured for numerous small molecules. Our results yield precise absolute shielding data that will be useful in establishing benchmark computational chemistry methods for calculating rovibrational averaged magnetic shielding.

Weak intermolecular interactions in gas-phase nuclear magnetic resonance.

Gas-phase nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra demonstrating the effect of weak intermolecular forces on the NMR shielding constants of the interacting species are reported. We analyse the interaction of the molecular hydrogen isotopomers with He, Ne, and Ar, and the interaction in the He-CO(2) dimer. The same effects are studied for all these systems in the ab initio calculations. The comparison of the experimental and computed shielding constants is shown to depend strongly on the treatment of the bulk susceptibility effects, which determine in practice the pressure dependence of the experimental values. Best agreement of the results is obtained when the bulk susceptibility correction in rare gas solvents is evaluated from the analysis of the He-rare gas interactions, and when the shielding of deuterium in D(2)-rare gas systems is considered.

NMR shielding constants in PH3, absolute shielding scale, and the nuclear magnetic moment of 31P.

Ab initio values of the absolute shielding constants of phosphorus and hydrogen in PH(3) were determined, and their accuracy is discussed. In particular, we analyzed the relativistic corrections to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) shielding constants, comparing the constants computed using the four-component Dirac-Hartree-Fock approach, the four-component density functional theory (DFT), and the Breit-Pauli perturbation theory (BPPT) with nonrelativistic Hartree-Fock or DFT reference functions. For the equilibrium geometry, we obtained σ(P) = 624.309 ppm and σ(H) = 29.761 ppm. Resonance frequencies of both nuclei were measured in gas-phase NMR experiments, and the results were extrapolated to zero density to provide the frequency ratio for an isolated PH(3) molecule. This ratio, together with the computed shielding constants, was used to determine a new value of the nuclear magnetic dipole moment of (31)P: µ(P) = 1.1309246(50) µ(N).

(13)C shielding scale for MAS NMR spectroscopy.

We have performed the direct measurements of (13)C magnetic shielding for pure liquid TMS, solution of 1% TMS in CDCl3 and solid fullerene. The measurements were carried out in spherical ampoules exploring the relation between the resonance frequencies, shielding constants and magnetic moments of (13)C and (3)He nuclei. Next the (13)C shielding constants of glycine, hexamethylbenzene and adamantane were established on the basis of appropriate chemical shifts measured in the solid state. All the new results are free from susceptibility effects and can be recommended as the reference standards of (13)C shielding scale in the magic angle spinning NMR experiments.

Alternative approach to the standardization of NMR spectra. Direct measurement of nuclear magnetic shielding in molecules.

Exploring the relation between shielding constants, resonance frequencies and magnetic moments of the nuclei we demonstrate that nuclear magnetic shielding can be directly observed from NMR spectra. In this approach, the absolute shielding constants of all the nuclei can be related to a single reference scale, with atomic (3)He as the primary standard. The accuracy of the data obtained using our method is confirmed comparing the (1)H and (13)C shielding constants for a series of deuterated compounds with those determined analyzing the traditional chemical shifts. Since the use of helium-3 is not in general a practical alternative, we next transfer the reference standard to the (2)H signals of external lock solvents, in this way making the method easy and ready for application with most NMR spectrometers. Finally, we illustrate our new method with the measurements of the (2/1)H primary isotope effects in several liquid deuterated solvents.

Temperature dependence of the (1)J((11)B(19)F) spin-spin coupling in BF(3) molecule.

The (1)J((11)B(19)F) spin-spin coupling of gaseous BF(3) was observed in (11)B NMR spectra as a function of density in a wide range of temperatures. Following the extrapolation of the measured values to the zero-density limit, the coupling constant free from intermolecular effects (1)J(0)((11)B(19)F) was obtained for each temperature. In contrast to previous investigations, the final results indicate a nonlinear dependence of (1)J(0)((11)B(19)F) on temperature. In the corresponding ab initio calculations of spin-spin coupling constants performed at the coupled cluster singles and doubles (CCSD) level to obtain a reliable result for this coupling constant we had to take into account large vibrational corrections.

NMR shielding constants in BF(3) and magnetic dipole moments of (11)B and (10)B nuclei.

Gas-phase NMR spectra of (11)B, (10)B, and (19)F in BF(3) are reported, and high-level ab initio calculations of the corresponding NMR shielding constants are described. Extrapolation of the measured resonance frequencies to the zero-density limit ensures that the results correspond to the ab initio values for an isolated molecule. Simultaneous measurements of (3)He resonance frequencies and application of the calculated shielding constants allow us to determine improved values of the nuclear magnetic dipole moments of (11)B and (10)B. The magnetic moments of both isotopes are also determined independently by comparing with the (19)F spectral parameters (frequencies and shielding constants). The separately derived nuclear magnetic moments are in good agreement, whereas the literature moments of both (11)B and (10)B are noticeably less accurate.

NMR frequency and magnetic dipole moment of (3)He nucleus.

We present new gas-phase NMR spectra which relate the resonance frequency of (3)He nucleus to the resonance frequency of the proton in tetramethylsilane (TMS). We discuss the dependence of (3)He resonance frequency on the density of the solvent gas, and we consider in detail the absolute shielding scales of both nuclei. Finally, we analyse the accuracy of the results, using the relationship between the resonance frequencies, absolute shielding constants and magnetic dipole moments of (1)H and (3)He nuclei.