13C-NMR and Molecular Orbital Studies of Protonation to Formanilides

The effect of protonation to formanilides was studied by measurements of ¹³C-NMR chemical shifts in CDCl₃ and methanesulfonic acid. It was found that the ¹³C shift of the ring carbon, to which the amide group is attached, exhibits an upfield shift by the protonation, whereas the peaks of the rest of ring carbons and carbonyl carbon shift downfield. The protonation-induced shifts of the ring carbons were found to be roughly correlated with the differences of the total electron densities between formanilides and their monocations. From the comparison between the protonation-induced shifts and the differences of the total electron densities at the carbons, especially at the carbonyl carbon, it is suggested that N-protonation is partly involved, although O-protonation seems to be dominant.