Potential Energy Barrier Determinations for Some Alkyl Nitrites by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Abstract

A technique for studying rapid chemical exchange and reorientation reactions by nuclear magnetic resonance techniques is discussed. A treatment for the general case relating the changes in the proton line width with changes in the frequency of rotation about the O–N bond in the alkyl nitrites is developed. Such a treatent gave fairly accurate potential energy barriers to rotation for methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, and isopropyl nitrite. A temperature controlling device for low temperatures applicable to proton resonance techniques is discussed.