Standardization of chemical shifts of TMS and solvent signals in NMR solvents

Abstract

The standard for chemical shift is dilute tetramethylsilane (TMS) in CDCl3, but many measurements are made relative to TMS in other solvents, the proton resonance of the solvent peak or relative to the lock frequency. Here, the chemical shifts of TMS and the proton and deuterium chemical shifts of the solvent signals of several solvents are measured over a wide temperature range. This allows for the use of TMS or the solvent and lock signal as a secondary reference for other NMR signals, as compared with dilute TMS in CDCl3 at a chosen temperature; 25 degrees C is chosen here. An accuracy of 0.02 ppm is achievable for dilute solutions, provided that the interaction with the solvent is not very strong. The proton chemical shift of residual water is also reported where appropriate.