SUMMARYWe present some properties of NMR first order spectra in relation with the permutational character of intramolecular rearrangements. We use the symmetry properties of the effective spin hamiltonian in order to analyse the KuboSack exchange matrices. In this context, we propose the experimental study of two molecules and we show that this study could give rise to new information about the permutational character of the rearrangements responsible for their non-rigidity.
I. INTRODUCTIONIn connection with stereochemical nonrigidity the study of line-shapes of NMR spectra has appeared to be an exceptionally powerful method, as well for estimating the energy barrier, and more precisely the free enthalpy of activation of the rearrangements resulting from this nonriqidity as for determining their permutational character (see below) 2' 15-17. The theory of line-shape analysis in NMR and its application to chemical exchange have been extensively reviewed,and we refer the interested reader to the original papers for detai1~l-l~. The principle of NMR line-shape analysis lies on the use of a mathematical model that can be programmed. The data of this model, i.e. the input of the program,are experimental parameters such as chemical shifts, scalar coupling constants, line-widths (i.e. inverses of transverse relaxation times), and, last but not least, a given rate constant for the chemical exchange under study, and an operator, or set of operators, describing the permutational character of the rearrangemet~t~~' 5' 15-17. The output of the model is a theoretical NMR spectrum whose line-shapes depend not only on the rate of exchange of the nonrigid molecule, but also on the permutational character of the exchange under consideration. It is