Linear free energy relationships for carbon-13 NMR chemical shifts of substituted benzoic acids1

In order to examine ¹³C-SCS of substituted benzoic acids, chemical shifts of the acid form (I) and the dissociated form (II) have been obtained separately. Single substituent parameters, σ⁰ or σ⁺ are correlated with the shifts for the carboxyl (δ_co) or ipso carbons (δ_ipso), respectively. Among the available five equations which are developed for the analysis with dual (or divided) substituent parameters (DSP), the Swain-Lupton equation (eqn 3) and the Taft-Swain-Lupton equation (eqn 4) give much better correlations, not only for δ_co and δ_ipso but also for the results for ring carbons (C(2), C(5), C(6)), except for those attached to or neighboured by substituents. It is concluded that the SCS of aromatic compounds are best analyzed with substituent parameters derived from reactions or equilibria on the basis of linear free energy relationships.