Obtaining the structure and bond rotational potential of a substituted ethane by NMR spectroscopy of solutions in nematic liquid-crystalline solvents

Partially averaged dipolar couplings (also referred to as residual dipolar couplings) $Dij$ can be obtained from the analysis of the NMR spectra of molecules dissolved in liquid-crystalline solvents. Their values for a nonrigid molecule depend upon the bond lengths and angles, the rotational potentials, and the orientational order of the molecules. The molecule studied, 1-chloro-2-bromoethane, is one of the simplest example of a substituted alkane in which the rotational potential has three minimum-energy positions, trans and $gauche±conformations$⁠, and the present investigation explores the problems inherent in deriving the form of the potential and the molecular geometry from the set of partially averaged couplings between the protons, and between protons and $C13$ nuclei. The geometrical parameters and the rotational potential obtained are compared with the results from a density-functional theory method.