This chapter describes briefly chemical shifts (or nuclear magnetic shielding constants) and indirect spin–spin coupling constants. They are well known as powerful tools for studying several molecular properties which are very important in different branches of the broad field of molecular sciences. The present description is oriented to an interdisciplinary audience and therefore it is expected that it can be followed for readers without strong backgrounds either in mathematics or physics. After a short revision of basic concepts, a qualitative method devised to extract information on electronic molecular structures is described. This aim is achieved employing this qualitative method for relating such parameters known in different series of compounds with several common chemical interactions. Since both types of NMR parameters present second-rank tensor properties, it is discussed how such property is affected in molecules measured in isotropic phase. Anybody with mathematical and physical background would answer immediately, “in isotropic phase is only observed one-third of the respective tensor trace.” However, in molecules that trace depends on the relative orientation of the Principal Axes System and bonds associated to the atom whose nuclear magnetic shielding is studied, or to the straight line connecting a pair of coupled nuclei. To describe these effects in this chapter is coined the expression “the geometric effect” to identify them. The same expression is also employed in . A list of exercises and appropriate references are included at the end of this chapter.
Polarization propagators (PP) are powerful theoretical tools that allow carrying out a deep analysis of the electronic mechanisms underlying any molecular response property. The inner projections of the PP and contributions from localized orbitals within the PP approaches described in were developed to fully take advantage of this power of analysis for the study of NMR spectroscopic parameters. They are based on the use of localized molecular orbitals (LMOs) related to chemically intuitive concepts to decompose the mathematical expression of these parameters into coupling pathways or shielding pathways. Each of them may be furthermore decomposed into two new objects: (i) perturbators, which give information on the efficiency of a given magnetic perturbation to produce local excitations and (ii) the principal propagator matrix elements which provide deep understanding on the way perturbations are transmitted within the electronic framework of the molecule under study. Applications are presented in , both within semiempirical and ab initio approaches: the Karplus rule, a general analysis of the signs of J couplings, σ–π decomposition, hyperconjugative effects in transmission of J couplings, general features of 1J couplings, and intermolecular couplings in hydrogen-bonded systems. All applications were especially selected to cover examples in which qualitative physical insight can be gained.
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