Solvent effects upon the proton NMR linewidth in dimethylformamide

The NMR linewidth of the formyl proton in dimethylformamide has been studied in the neat liquid and twelve organic solvents. It varies by more than one order of magnitude which is referred to solvent viscosity changes and to the protonation of dimethylformamide. The data do not allow the distinction between N- and O-protonation without further knowledge of the solvent dependence of either the nitrogen-14 spin lattice relaxation time or the spin-spin coupling ²J(NH).