Chemical Analysis of Fluorobenzenes via Multinuclear Detection in the Strong Heteronuclear J-Coupling Regime

Chemical analysis via nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy using permanent magnets, rather than superconducting magnets, is a rapidly developing field. Performing the NMR measurement in the strong heteronuclear J-coupling regime has shown considerable promise for the chemical analysis of small molecules. Typically, the condition for the strong heteronuclear J-coupling regime is satisfied at mu T magnetic field strengths and enables high resolution J-coupled spectra (JCS) to be acquired. However, the JCS response to systematic chemical structural changes has largely not been investigated. In this report, we investigate the JCS of C6H6-xFx (x = 0, 1, 2, ..., 6) fluorobenzene compounds via simultaneous excitation and detection of F-19 and H-1 at 51.5 mu T. The results demonstrate that JCS are quantitative, and the common NMR observables, including Larmor frequency, heteronuclear and homonuclear J-couplings, relative signs of the J-coupling, chemical shift, and relaxation, are all measurable and are differentiable between molecules at low magnetic fields. The results, corroborated by ab initio calculations, provide new insights into the impact of chemical structure and their corresponding spin systems on JCS. In several instances, the JCS provided more chemical information than traditional high field NMR, demonstrating that JCS can be used for robust chemical analysis.