Molecular thermodynamics using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is perhaps the most widely used technology from the undergraduate teaching labs in organic chemistry to advanced research for the determination of three-dimensional structure as well as dynamics of biomolecular systems… The NMR spectrum of a molecule under a given experimental condition is unique, providing both quantitative and structural information. In particular, the quantitative nature of NMR spectroscopy offers the ability to follow a reaction pathway of the given molecule in a dynamic process under well-defined experimental conditions. To highlight the use of NMR when determining the molecular thermodynamic parameters, a review of three distinct applications developed from our laboratory is presented. These applications include the thermodynamic parameters of (a) molecular oxidation from time-dependent kinetics, (b) intramolecular rotation, and (c) intermolecular exchange. An experimental overview and the method of data analysis are provided so that these applications can be adopted in a range of molecular systems.