Unambiguous assignment of trifluoromethylpyrazole regioisomers by 19F-15N correlation spectroscopy

Analysis of the 19F chemical shifts of trifluoromethylpyrazole regioisomers has shown that while chemical shift is in general a reliable predictor of regiochemistry in this series, there is a narrow chemical shift range in which the two isomers overlap and the regiochemistry cannot be assigned with certainty. We have examined the usage of 19F--15N correlation spectroscopy as a method to provide a second unambiguous confirmation of regiochemistry of 3- and 5-trifluoromethylpyrazole regioisomers. In the case of 3-trifluoromethyl analogs, one expects a three-bond coupling to the pyridine type nitrogen (N-2). In the case of the 5-trifluoromethyl pyrazole the situation is exactly reversed, with the fluorines of the trifluoromethyl moiety being 3-bonds from the pyrrole type nitrogen (N-1). We have observed that 3-trifluromethyl analogs follow the expected pattern of readily observable 3-bond coupling. However, 19F--15N couplings in 5-trifluromethyl analogs do not follow the normal pattern of 3-bond coupling. Using this information we have been able to develop unambiguous methods to distinguish the isomers.