Abstract
SummaryThe structure of a humic acid from a New Zealand pasture topsoil has been investigated by 1H‐n.m.r. spectroscopy. The work complements a recent 13C‐n.m.r. study on the same humic acid. Irradiating the water peak in the spectrum greatly improves spectral quality. The results show that the proton aromaticity of the humic acid (excluding exchangeable protons) is 17%. Considerable amounts of protons in the humic acid are associated with carbohydrates (35%). Useful structural parameters describing the average molecular structure of the humic acid were derived by combining both 1H and 13C data. Further work is needed to determine both the percentage exchange of protons in alkali and the percentage of inorganic hydrogen in humic acids, before the condensation and the degree of substitution of aromatic rings can be quantitatively estimated.
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