An Introduction to Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

This chapter talks about nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), which is the primary instrumental method for determining molecular structure. It introduces the underlying principles of how the NMR spectrometer functions and how a signal is obtained and processed, reintroducing spectral interpretation. It also cites a key advantage of NMR analysis, which is the fact that the results provide structural information about how the individual pieces of the molecule are connected. The chapter emphasizes how NMR can provide the final interpretation to identify an unknown substance or to provide evidence that the compound under study is the analyte of interest. It highlights NMR transitions which directly probe the chemical environment of each NMR active nucleus in a molecule.