Carbon-13 NMR spectra of a series of para-substituted phenyl isothiocyanates. Linear free energy relationships for carbon-13 substituent chemical shifts

Carbon-13 chemical shifts are reported for 16 para-substituted phenyl isothiocyanates measured at 1 and 10 mol % in chloroform-d solution. Data for the ? N?C?S group were not obtained at 1 mol %, but concentration effects for the other resonances were negligible. Hammett, dual substituent parameter (DSP) and DSP-nonlinear resonance (DSP-NLR) analyses were used to evaluate substituent effects on the substituent chemical shifts (SCS) for the ipso-carbon (C-1), C-2, and the ? N?C?S carbon atoms. A good Hammett correlation was observed for C-1 (ν_p⁺ = 8.1 ppm, r = 0.98 at 1 mol %) but was improved for the higher order correlations with the following results, DSP:ρ _I = 5.4, ρ_R° = 22.2, r = 0.998; DSP-NLR: ρ_I = 5.6, ρ_R° = 20.5, ? = ?0.22, r = 0.999. The 10 mol % data were very similar except the value of ? was ?0.26 and confirms the phenyl-bonded ? N?C?S moiety as a mild electron acceptor substituent. Hammett correlations were unsuccessful for the C-2 data, but fairly good results were obtained from the higher order analyses. For the 1 mol % data, DSP: ν_I = 1.6, ν_R° = ?2.0, r = 0.976; DSP-NLR: ν_I = 1.8, ν_R° = ?2.6, ? = 1.1, r = 0.982. Excellent correlations were obtained for the 10 mol % ? N?C?S carbon data. Hammett: ν_p° = 6.2, r = 0.997; DSP: ν_I = 5.9, ν_R° = 7.0, r = 0.997; DSP-NLR: ν_I = 5.8, ν_R° = 7.6, ? = 0.25, r = 0.997. The positive ν values in these three correlations contrast the negative values usually observed for carbonyl and thiocarbonyl carbons, and more closely parallel results previously reported for the β-carbon of styrenes and benzylidene anilines with para-substituents in the aniline ring.