Proton magnetic resonance of ethane in the liquid and gaseous states

The proton chemical shift of ethane is reported, covering for gaseous ethane the density range 0 to 0·5 g cm^-3 and the temperature range 0 to 110°C, and for liquid ethane from the critical temperature down to -55°C. The results are discussed in terms of the van der Waals interaction term σ _w , using a virial expansion including both binary and ternary collisions. A parallel is drawn between the medium shifts and the equation of state for non-ideal gases. Some comments are made regarding (i) the uniqueness of the parameter B for protons in a C-H bond in non-polar molecules, (ii) the neighbour anisotropy contribution σ _a in molecules such as ethane and ethylene, and (iii) the van der Waals gas-to-liquid medium shift, and its temperature dependence, in larger molecules.