H NMR Spectroscopy

A short introduction
Larry Scheffler
Introduction
 Nuclear magnetic resonance, or NMR involves
the study of what occurs when the nuclei of
certain atoms are placed in a static magnetic field
and exposed to a second changing magnetic field.
 Molecules that contain hydrogen atoms. produce
an NMR signal.
 The nature and pattern of that signal depend on
the immediate environment of the hydrogen
atoms.
 Since organic molecules contain large numbers of
hydrogen atoms the study of the NMR spectra is a
useful tool in identifying a particular compound.
Information from NMR

 There are three basic kinds of

information that can be derived from
NMR spectra that are useful in
identifying organic compounds.
These include
The signal strength
The splitting pattern
The chemical shift
Parts of an NMR spectra

The NMR spectra for ethyl ethanoate appears above

In the molecule there are hydrogen atoms in three
different environments resulting in three different
signals (Labeled A, B, and C respectively)
The chemical shift

The chemical shifts for the three peaks are shown at

the bottom of the spectrum. The degree to which a
signal is shifted depends on the environment of the
hydrogen atoms
The Splitting pattern

Notice that the signal for the protons designated A

is split into 4 peaks. The number of peaks is one
more than the number of adjacent carbon atoms
The Splitting pattern

Since there are three hydrogens on the adjacent

carbon atom (C) that is adjacent to A there are four
peaks
The Splitting pattern

Likewise C is split into three peaks since there are

two hydrogens on the adjacent carbon atom A.
The Splitting pattern

B is not split since there are no hydrogens on its

adjacent carbon atom
Area Under the Curve

The black numbers in the spectrum indicate the

signal strength. They are proportional to the area of
the signal and the relative numbers of hydrogen
atoms responsible for the signal.
Additional NMR Spectra
4-methylbenzaldehyde or 4 methyl benzenal
Additional NMR Spectra
4 isopropyl-1-methoxybenzene