The 1H, 13C and 15N NMR spectra have been measured of coupling products of benzenediazonium salts with nitromethane, nitroethane, 1-nitropropane, 2-nitroethanol and of their sodium salts, and the chemical shifts have been unambiguously assigned. The coupling products have been found to exist only in their hydrazone tautomeric forms. Stereospecific behaviour of the coupling constants 2J(15N,1H) and 2J(15N,13C) in the 15N isotopomers and NOESY have been used to differentiate between the E and Z geometrical isomers. The above-mentioned compounds exist as Z isomers in deuteriochloroform and predominantly (>95%) as E isomers in dimethyl sulfoxide, while the sodium salts are present only as E isomers in dimethyl sulfoxide.
