Carbon-13, proton spin–spin coupling constants in some 2-substituted propanes

Carbon-13, proton coupling constants have been measured in eighteen different 2-substituted propanes. ¹J(C-2,H) shows variations similar to those observed previously for monosubstituted methanes. ²J(C-2,H) is essentially independent of the substituent at C-2, while ²J(C-1,H) varies over a range of at least 5 Hz. The latter coupling constant becomes more positive as the electronegativity of the substituent increases while ³J(CH) decreases as the electronegativity of the substituent increases. The observed trends in ⁿJ(CH) are compared with those calculated using semi-empirical molecular orbital theory at the INDO level of approximation.