Analysis of molecular structures by homo- and hetero-nuclear J-coupled NMR in ultra-low field

Abstract

The drawback of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy at ultra-low magnetic fields appears to be the lack of access to chemical information in terms of chemical shifts and homo-nuclear J-couplings. Here we report that a chemical group can be identified by the multiplet structure of the NMR spectrum in ultra-low fields if the condition of the strong hetero-nuclear J-coupling is fulfilled. Moreover we found that high-resolution ultra-low field proton-NMR spectra of liquids indeed reveal all hetero- and homo-nuclear J-couplings in terms of pairs of multiplets. This opens the door for the study of molecular structures at ultra-low magnetic fields.