The internal barriers to rotation about the carbon–carbon bond in 3,5-dichlorobenzyl alcohol and selenol by the J method

The J method, depending on a comparison between observed spin–spin coupling constants over six bonds between protons on a side chain and para ring protons and those calculated by a hindered rotor treatment, is applied to the determination of the twofold barrier to internal rotation about the carbon–carbon bonds in 3,5-dichlorobenzyl alcohol and selenol. In the alcohol, the C—O bond prefers the benzene plane by 0.3 ± 0.2 kcal/mol whereas, in the selenol, the C—Se bond prefers a plane perpendicular to the benzene ring by 3.8 ± 0.7 kcal/mol. Comparison with the thiol suggests that a major component of the barrier arises from repulsive interactions, increasing as the size of the XH (X = O, S, Se) group increases.