Weiss's endo- and exo-tetracyclo[5.5.1.0.2,6 010,13]tridecane-4,8,12-trione: analysis of 1H NMR couplings in a system of fused 5-membered rings

Abstract

The configurational isomers of the title compounds consist of four fused five-membered rings. They contain tightly coupled 1H NMR spin systems, which provide excellent models for establishing the relationships between coupling constants and conformation. Complete chemical shift assignments and spin–spin coupling constants are reported for the title compounds by using high-field (500 MHz) 1H NMR techniques (e.g., 2D homonuclear and heteronuclear experiments, difference NOE enhancements, and computational spin simulations). In addition to the more familiar two- and three-bond couplings, the spectra of 1 and 2 also contain a number of long-range (four- and five- bond) couplings, which provide a stringent test of Barfield's theoretical treatment of four-bond couplings.