Complexes of boron trifluoride with a series of substituted pyridines have been studied using a direct, low-temperature 13C and 19F n.m.r. technique. At temperatures from 0 to –40 °C, ligand exchange is slow enough to permit the observation of separate 13C n.m.r. signals for bulk and co-ordinated pyridine molecules. The co-ordinated pyridine shift displacements are interpreted in terms of ligand polarization and a paramagnetic effect at the nitrogen atom. The BF319F n.m.r. chemical shifts were correlated with calorimetric data in several cases, and in general provide a measure of the strength of the interaction but not of ligand basicity. Comparative complexing abilities were evaluated by studying several pyridine mixtures.
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