A correlation of substituent effects with proton chemical shifts in aromatic tetrazolic acids

The effect of substituents on the proton chemical shifts and spin–spin coupling constants in ortho-, meta- and para-substituted 5-phenyltetrazoles (tetrazolic acids) in DMSO–CH₃CN (1:1, v/v) was studied. With the meta- and para- substituted compounds the additivity rule of chemical shifts was obeyed, thereby enabling increments characterizing the effects of individual substituents in monosubstituted benzenes to be determined. By employing the Smith and Proulx equation, the chemical shifts of the aromatic protons were correlated with the F, R and Q substituent constants. The values of these constants are 1.02, ?0.004 and 5.49, respectively, for the tetrazolyl substituent.