ABSTRACT
An intrinsic property of nuclei is nuclear spin. In the presence of a magnetic field, the nuclei adopt different spin states with different energy values. For 1H and 13C, they can adopt two different spin states: lower energy (aligned with the field) and higher energy (aligned against the field). By using radio frequencies, the spin states can be inverted. The exact frequency will depend on the local environment, the number of neighbouring nuclei, and nearby functional groups, which allows chemists to determine the structure of an organic molecule. This chapter introduces readers to the fundamentals of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) experiment and spectrum interpretation, with an emphasis on multiplet analysis. The chapter concludes with practice in structure determination using NMR, infrared spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry.
