Indirect Nuclear Spin-Spin Couplings in Saturated Hydrocarbon Molecules

Abstract

A general formula for the coupling constant J H H ' between two hydrogen nuclei is derived by means of the valence bond method. Almost all the structures, which are obtained by Rumer's theorem, are taken into account. The calculated value of J H H ' in a methane molecule is 12.1 sec. -1 , which is in good agreement with experiment. It is shown that an approximate formula for J H H ' , which is derived from the general one, is convenient to discuss the qualitative behavior of J H H ' .