NMR: Deducing Structures Like Sherlock Holmes

Gang, we've been hitting reactions and mechanisms REALLY hard. So we're going to take a little detour and tackle a topic in Organic Chemistry that is truly different than any other we've conquered thus far. In real life, after you've performed a reaction and have a product mixture, you want to verify that your reaction worked and see how much product you made. Well HNMR is the gold standard for determining the structure(s) present in a solution/sample. We'll begin the party with some HNMR theory and then move to discussing all the terminology you'll need to know. Afterwards, we'll solve a LOT of problems where we'll piece together structures from given spectrums, and we'll also do problems where we're given a structure and are tasked with drawing its spectrum. So grab your detective hat and your logic skillz--we have some deducing to do.

Worksheet(s) & Solution(s):

Videos:

  1. NMR Background and a Splash of Theory

    https://joechem.io/videos/106 for video on jOeCHEM and attached worksheet + solution (below video on jOeCHEM aka the link). In this video, I introduce HNMR and talk about the theory behind it (before getting into how to solve HNMR problems)

  2. NMR Terminology Explanation and Review

    https://joechem.io/videos/107 for video on jOeCHEM and attached worksheet + solution (below video on jOeCHEM aka the link). An overview of all the terminology you'll need to know and be savvy with to understand and hold your own in the world of NMR.

  3. Learning How to Calculate Degrees of Unsaturation

    https://joechem.io/videos/108 for video on jOeCHEM and attached worksheet + solution (below video on jOeCHEM aka the link). In this video, we look at how to calculate the Degrees of Unsaturation when looking at an HNMR spectrum (just a single skill, but VERY important).

  4. Deducing Structures Using NMR (Part One)

    https://joechem.io/videos/109 for video on jOeCHEM and attached worksheet + solution (below video on jOeCHEM aka the link). In this video, we go through examples of how to take an HNMR spectrum, extract information from it, write that info down in a clear, organized format, and then take that info and actually draw/deduce the structure the spectrum describes. I was VERY bad at this at first, so if its a little frustrating, keep at it, stay organized, and PRACTICE. Part Two: https://joechem.io/videos/110

  5. Deducing Structures Using NMR (Part Two)

    https://joechem.io/videos/110 for video on jOeCHEM and attached worksheet + solution (below video on jOeCHEM aka the link). Part One: https://joechem.io/videos/109 In this video, we continue to do more examples of deducing structures from HNMR spectra. In my experience, from someone who was NOT good at HNMR at first, the only way to get good at these problems is understanding the process of picking information out from a spectrum, staying organized, and practice practice practice.