Nuclear relaxation and motional anisotropy of liquid s-triazine

The dynamic structure of liquid s-triazine has been studied by analysing the deuterium and nitrogen-14 quadrupolar relaxation data of d ₃-s-triazine.

The molecular motions are markedly anisotropic with: (a) fast, large angle jump, inertial type in-plane motions of almost zero activation enthalpy and large negative activation entropy; (b) comparatively slow, small angle jump, rotational diffusion type, out of plane motions of higher activation enthalpy and small activation entropy. Comparison of the data on the dynamic behaviour of pyridine 3] and benzene 4] with the present ones on s-triazine leads to a general picture of molecular motions of planar hexagonal rotors in the liquid state (at atmospheric pressure). The behaviour of pyridine, which has a dipole moment departs somewhat from the more similar (and more anisotropic) behaviour of benzene and s-triazine. These results also support our previous finding of motional anisotropy in liquid pyridine 3].

A pictorial representation of the motional anisotropy in benzene, pyridine and s-triazine is giving using motional ellipsoids whose axes lengths are proportional to the diffusion constants.