A STUDY OF TAUTOMERISM IN CYCLIC β-DIKETONES BY PROTON MAGNETIC RESONANCE
The keto–enol equilibrium of cyclohexane-1,3-dione in chloroform is best interpreted from proton resonance measurements as[Formula: see text]K1 and K2 may be separately determined from chemical shift measurements of the enol-OH proton and intensity measurements of peaks assigned to keto and enol forms. K1 and K2 are satisfactorily independent of concentrations except in very dilute solutions where intensity measurements become unreliable. The overall equilibrium constant K = K1 × K22 can be obtained for the same molecule in acetonitrile solutions where the enol monomer form is in very low concentration. 5,5′-Dimethylcyclohexane-1,3-dione in chloroform has less enol form than the unsubstituted molecule. The enthalpy change associated with 'K' for cyclohexane-1,3-dione in chloroform is 2.05 ± 0.5 kcal mole−1.