Deuterium N.M.R. of liquid crystal solutions with proton–proton dipolar decoupling

Abstract

Deuterium N.M.R. of solute molecules in liquid crystal solutions with the removal of proton–proton dipolar coupling has been explored. The deuterium N.M.R. spectrum of a partially deuterated compound dissolved in a liquid crystal solvent is usually complex or unresolved because of proton–deuterium coupling and extensive proton–proton dipolar coupling. When the latter is removed by a special dipolar decoupling sequence, the deuterium N.M.R. spectrum becomes first order, and deuterium–proton dipolar coupling constants can be readily obtained from the spectrum. Results of monodeuterated hexanes and heptanes dissolved in ZLI 2142 are reported.     

Orientational ordering of 4-substituted phenylcyclohexanes studied by carbon-13 two-dimensional N.M.R.

An N.M.R. method combining the techniques of separated local field spectroscopy (SLF) and variable angle spinning (VAS) is valuable in the investigtion of nematic liquid crystals. Rapid sample spinning causes the nematic director to align along the spinning axis, resulting in narrow peaks in the C-13 N.M.R. spectrum. SLF is a two-dimensional N.M.R. method which produces a first order splitting pattern for each carbon signal from which C-H dipolar coupling constants can be determined. The order parameters for all segments of the liquid crystal molecule can then be calculated. Results for three 4'-cyanophenylcyclohexanes are considered here. These compounds are trans-substituted at the 4 position of cyclohexane ring with n-pentane (PCH5), 1-pentene (3d₁CP) and 3-pentene (1d₃CP), respectively.     

Orientational ordering of 4-substituted phenylcyclohexanes studied by carbon-13 two-dimensional N.M.R.

Abstract

An N.M.R. method combining the techniques of separated local field spectroscopy (SLF) and variable angle spinning (VAS) is valuable in the investigtion of nematic liquid crystals. Rapid sample spinning causes the nematic director to align along the spinning axis, resulting in narrow peaks in the C-13 N.M.R. spectrum. SLF is a two-dimensional N.M.R. method which produces a first order splitting pattern for each carbon signal from which C–H dipolar coupling constants can be determined. The order parameters for all segments of the liquid crystal molecule can then be calculated. Results for three 4′-cyanophenylcyclohexanes are considered here. These compounds are trans-substituted at the 4 position of cyclohexane ring with n-pentane (PCH5), 1-pentene (3d ₁CP) and 3-pentene (1d ₃CP), respectively.     

A special method of deformational correction in N.M.R. of molecules dissolved in liquid crystals

A simple method of deformational correction for the N.M.R. spectral parameters of molecules dissolved in liquid crystals is described. The method is applicable to the different isotopically substituted derivatives of the molecules belonging to the cubic point groups. Its validity is verified for the dipolar and quadrupolar couplings observed in the molecules CH₄, CD₄ and CH₃D dissolved in the liquid crystals Merck Phase IV, Merck ZLI 1167 and their mixtures.     

Determination of order parameters from carbon-fluorine dipolar coupling

A convenient NMR method for the determination of the order parameters for liquid crystals containing a fluorinated phenyl ring is described. The technique consists of measuring the carbon-fluorine dipolar coupling constants in the one-dimensional C-13 spectrum of the molecule. The order parameters may then be calculated for the fluorine-containing ring with a high degree of precision because of the excellent resolution afforded by the 1-D C-13 spectra. The method is used to determine the core order parameters for 4-n-hexyloxybenzilidene-4'-fluoroaniline (FAB-OC6). The results of the carbon-fluorine dipolar coupling method are compared with two established methods for determining the core order parameters of phenyl rings, namely deuterium NMR spectroscopy and SLF/VAS, a two-dimensional C-13 NMR spectroscopy. Some comments about the orientational properties of the fluorinated liquid crystal FAB-OC6 are made.     

Using switched angle spinning to simplify NMR spectra of strongly oriented samples

This contribution describes a method that manipulates the alignment director of a liquid crystalline sample to obtain anisotropic magnetic interaction parameters, such as dipolar coupling, in an oriented liquid crystalline sample. By changing the axis of rotation with respect to the applied magnetic field in a spinning liquid crystalline sample, the dipolar couplings present in a normally complex strong coupling spectrum are scaled to a simple weak coupling spectrum. This simplified weak coupling spectrum is then correlated with the isotropic chemical shift in a switched angle spinning (SAS) two-dimensional (2D) experiment. This dipolar-isotropic 2D correlation was also observed for the case where the couplings are scaled to a degree where the spectrum approaches strong coupling. The SAS 2D correlation of C(6)F(5)Cl in the nematic liquid crystal I52 was obtained by first evolving at an angle close to the magic angle (54.7 degrees ) and then directly detecting at the magic angle. The SAS method provides a 2D correlation where the weak coupling pairs are revealed as cross-peaks in the indirect dimension separated by the isotropic chemical shifts in the direct dimension. Additionally, by using a more complex SAS method which involves three changes of the spinning axis, the solidlike spinning sideband patterns were correlated with the isotropic chemical shifts in a 2D experiment. These techniques are expected to enhance the interpretation and assignment of anisotropic magnetic interactions including dipolar couplings for molecules dissolved in oriented liquid crystalline phases.     

A special method of deformational correction in N.M.R. of molecules dissolved in liquid crystals

Abstract

A simple method of deformational correction for the N.M.R. spectral parameters of molecules dissolved in liquid crystals is described. The method is applicable to the different isotopically substituted derivatives of the molecules belonging to the cubic point groups. Its validity is verified for the dipolar and quadrupolar couplings observed in the molecules CH₄, CD₄ and CH₃D dissolved in the liquid crystals Merck Phase IV, Merck ZLI 1167 and their mixtures.     

Determination of order parameters from carbon–fluorine dipolar coupling

Abstract

A convenient NMR method for the determination of the order parameters for liquid crystals containing a fluorinated phenyl ring is described. The technique consists of measuring the carbon-fluorine dipolar coupling constants in the one-dimensional C-13 spectrum of the molecule. The order parameters may then be calculated for the fluorine-containing ring with a high degree of precision because of the excellent resolution afforded by the 1-D C-13 spectra. The method is used to determine the core order parameters for 4-n-hexyloxybenzilidene-4′-fluoroaniline (FAB-OC6). The results of the carbon-fluorine dipolar coupling method are compared with two established methods for determining the core order parameters of phenyl rings, namely deuterium NMR spectroscopy and SLF/VAS, a two-dimensional C-13 NMR spectroscopy. Some comments about the orientational properties of the fluorinated liquid crystal FAB-OC6 are made.     

Some N.M.R. experiments using lyotropic nematic liquid crystals

A series of lyotropic nematic liquid crystals based on aniso-dimensional micelles can be subdivided according to micelle shape and diamagnetic susceptibility anisotropy. The proton magnetic resonance spectra of benzene dissolved in dilute solution in several of these phases have been analysed. The signs of the partially averaged dipole-dipole coupling give information about the relative alignment of the six-fold symmetry axis of benzene, the director and the magnetic field. The system caesium perfluorooctanoate/water is unusual in two respects. The system forms a nematic phase with only a binary mixture and the disk micelles align in a perpendicular plane to the magnetic field. As a result the binary system has been studied previously in some detail (see N. Boden, S. A. Come and K. W. Jolley, 1987, J. phys. Chem.91, 4092). New measurements on the interesting phase diagram have been accomplished using caesium-133 and deuterium magnetic resonance measurements at various temperatures. Some dilatometric measurements have been made to complement the N.M.R. studies.     

Scalar coupling and frequency shift in liquid crystal solvents spinning at the magic angle

When a nuclear spin system dissolved in a liquid crystal is spun at the magic angle, it is shown that unusual N.M.R. spectral features are observed when the spinning frequency approaches the chemical shift difference between a pair of coupled nuclei. A detailed experimental analysis shows a strong enhancement of the sideband intensities as well as a resonance frequency shift analogous to a level anticrossing situation. The total frequency shift appears to be equal to the scalar spin-spin coupling between the nuclei concerned.     

Some N.M.R. experiments using lyotropic nematic liquid crystals

Abstract

A series of lyotropic nematic liquid crystals based on aniso-dimensional micelles can be subdivided according to micelle shape and diamagnetic susceptibility anisotropy. The proton magnetic resonance spectra of benzene dissolved in dilute solution in several of these phases have been analysed. The signs of the partially averaged dipole–dipole coupling give information about the relative alignment of the six-fold symmetry axis of benzene, the director and the magnetic field. The system caesium perfluorooctanoate/water is unusual in two respects. The system forms a nematic phase with only a binary mixture and the disk micelles align in a perpendicular plane to the magnetic field. As a result the binary system has been studied previously in some detail (see N. Boden, S. A. Come and K. W. Jolley, 1987, J. phys. Chem. 91, 4092). New measurements on the interesting phase diagram have been accomplished using caesium-133 and deuterium magnetic resonance measurements at various temperatures. Some dilatometric measurements have been made to complement the N.M.R. studies.     

Specifically deuteriated intermediates for the synthesis of liquid crystals and liquid-crystalline polymers

The recent developments in solid state N.M.R. techniques have rendered deuterium a most attractive nucleus for use in the study of liquid crystals and other ordered systems. Its application often requires that the deuterium be positioned at specific sites in the molecule. Here, the preparation of such specifically labelled compounds for use in liquid crystal research is discussed. It is shown that many deuteriated liquid crystals can be prepared from a limited set of labelled intermediates. Strategies for the labelling of such intermediates in both aromatic and aliphatic sites based on experience gained in the author's laboratory during the last years are discussed. In the experimental section more than fifty procedures for obtaining specifically deuteriated intermediates and mesogens are described in detail.     

An investigation of the hydrogen-bonding structure in bilirubin by 1H double-quantum magic-angle spinning solid-state NMR spectroscopy.

The complex hydrogen-bonding arrangement in the biologically important molecule bilirubin IXalpha is probed by using 1H double-quantum (DQ) magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy. Employing fast MAS (30 kHz) and a high magnetic field (16.4 T), three low-field resonances corresponding to the different hydrogen-bonding protons are resolved in a 1H MAS NMR spectrum of bilirubin. These resonances are assigned on the basis of the proton-proton proximities identified from a two-dimensional rotor-synchronized 1H DQ MAS NMR spectrum. An analysis of 1H DQ MAS spinning-sideband patterns for the NH protons in bilirubin allows the quantitative determination of proton-proton distances and the geometry. The validity of this procedure is proven by simulated spectra for a model three-spin system, which show that the shortest distance can be determined to a very high degree of accuracy. The distance between the lactam and pyrrole NH protons in bilirubin is determined to be 0.186 +/- 0.002 nm (corresponding to a dominant dipolar coupling constant of 18.5 +/- 0.5 kHz). The analysis also yields a distance between the lactam NH and carboxylic acid OH protons of 0.230 +/- 0.008 nm (corresponding to a perturbing dipolar coupling constant of 9.9 +/- 1.0 kHz) and an H-H-H angle of 122 +/- 4 degrees. Finally, a comparison of 1H DQ MAS spinning-sideband patterns for bilirubin and its dimethyl ester reveals a significantly longer distance between the two NH protons in the latter case.     

Molecules with large-amplitude torsional motion partially oriented in a nematic liquid crystal: ethane and isotopomers

An NMR study on ethane and five isotopomers dissolved in the nematic liquid crystal Merck ZLI 1132 is performed. A consistent set of dipolar and quadrupolar couplings is obtained. The dipolar couplings are corrected for harmonic vibrational effects, while the contribution from the torsional motion is incorporated classically. The corrected dipolar couplings cannot be understood in terms of a reasonable molecular structure unless effects of the reorientation-vibration interaction are taken into account. Assuming that the reorientation-vibration contributions that are known for the methyl group in methyl fluoride are transferable to ethane, excellent agreement between observed and calculated dipolar couplings is obtained on the basis of the ethane gas-phase structure. The observed and calculated deuterium quadrupolar couplings show discrepancies supporting the notion that average electric field gradients are important in liquid-crystal solvents. An important consequence of the transferability of the reorientation-vibration correlation is that in other molecules with a methyl group the same procedure as for ethane can be followed. Inclusion of this effect generally removes the need to interpret changes in observed dipolar couplings in terms of elusive chemical effects.     

Ferroelectric liquid crystals derived from isoleucine II. Orientational ordering by carbon-13 separated local field spectroscopy

The orientational ordering of a series of ferroelectric liquid crystals 4'-[(2S, 3S)-3-methyl- 2-halopentanoyloxy]-4-hexyloxybiphenyls (3M2XPHOB, X=F for fluorine, C for chlorine, B for bromine) and their racemates have been studied by two-dimensional carbon-13 separated local field spectroscopy combined with off-magic-angle spinning. All carbons are well-resolved in the carbon-13 NMR spectrum so that carbon-proton dipolar coupling constants for all carbons in the liquid crystal molecule can be determined, giving detailed segmental orienta- tional ordering information. (The order parameters of the biphenyl core segments and each carbon-proton bond in the aliphatic chains were measured as a function of temperature.) The results show that the substitution of different halogens on the chiral chain affects the carbon- proton bond orientational ordering of the entire chiral chain, while the orientational ordering of the rest of the liquid crystal molecule (core and achiral chain) remains unchanged. For the fluoro-substituted liquid crystals, carbon-fluorine dipolar couplings are also observed. At the SmA-to-SmC* transition, there is a discontinuous change in the magnitudes of all C-H bond order parameters. However, the aliphatic ordering relative to the core ordering is unchanged, suggesting that there is a negligible change in the mesogen conformation and the environment of the aliphatic chain at this transition, i.e. there is no evidence for substantial 'chiral interactions' in the SmC* phase.     

The influence of director fluctuations on molecular reorientation of a small probe molecule in a liquid-crystalline environment

The influence of director fluctuations on a probe molecule dissolved in a nematic liquid crystal is calculated to all orders using the gaussian properties of the director field. Consequences for the N.M.R. spectrum and relaxation through quadrupolar interaction of the probe molecule are indicated. It is found that the equilibrium distribution of molecular orientations, and consequently quadrupolar spectral splittings are virtually unchanged by fluctuations in the director field. The spectral densities are also obtained and it is shown that in addition to J₀₁ also J₀₀ and J₀₂ become frequency dependent in the N.M.R. frequency range. The frequency dependence of J₀₀ and J₀₂ has a logarithmic contribution; the magnitude of the frequency dependent contribution to J₀₂ is, however, insufficient to explain experimental results.     

Specifically deuteriated intermediates for the synthesis of liquid crystals and liquid-crystalline polymers

Abstract

The recent developments in solid state N.M.R. techniques have rendered deuterium a most attractive nucleus for use in the study of liquid crystals and other ordered systems. Its application often requires that the deuterium be positioned at specific sites in the molecule. Here, the preparation of such specifically labelled compounds for use in liquid crystal research is discussed. It is shown that many deuteriated liquid crystals can be prepared from a limited set of labelled intermediates. Strategies for the labelling of such intermediates in both aromatic and aliphatic sites based on experience gained in the author's laboratory during the last years are discussed. In the experimental section more than fifty procedures for obtaining specifically deuteriated intermediates and mesogens are described in detail.     

Molecular structure and the indirect spin–spin coupling constants in azulene—a proton NMR study in the nematic phase

The proton NMR spectrum of azulene has been investigated in the nematic phase of a liquid crystal. Spectral analysis provided the direct dipole-dipole coupling constants which were used to derive the structural information. It was found that the relative proton-proton distances in the 7- and 5-membered rings deviate significantly from those for regular heptagons and pentagons. Indirect spin-spin couplings were also obtained. Many of the inter-ring and long-range couplings have magnitudes between 0.2–0.8 Hz.     

Solvent effects on the structure of benzo[b]selenophene oriented in liquid crystals

Proton magnetic resonance spectra of benzo[b]selenophene including ⁷⁷Se satellites have been investigated in thermotropic liquid crystal solvents. Relative proton-proton and proton-selenium distances have been derived from the dipolar couplings. A comparison of the results on benzo[b]-furan, -thiophene and -selenophene and the application of bond polarisation hypothesis indicate significant solvent effects in the liquid crystal formed by an eutectic ternary mixture of propylpentyl- and heptyl-bicyclohexylcarbonitrile.     

A study of long range dipolar coupling constants in 4′-pentyloxy-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (5OCB)

It was shown previously that long range ²H-¹³ C dipolar coupling constants in liquid crystals could be obtained from the proton-decoupled ¹³C NMR spectrum of monodeuterated compounds. This approach has now been applied to the study of 4′-(1-deuteropentyloxy)-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (5OCB-d1). The 1¹³C spectrum of this compound gives nine ²H- ¹³C dipolar coupling constants for carbon ranging from one to six bonds away from the dueterium nucleus. The 2 H NMR and 5OCB-d1 gives the deuterium quadrupole coupling constant and the ¹H- ²H dipolar coupling constant for the α -CHD group. In addition, eleven 2-bond and two 3-bond ¹H- ¹³C dipolar coupling constants have been obtained for 4′-pentyloxy-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (non-deuterated 5OCB) by using the 2D ¹³C method of proton-encoded local field spectroscopy.