The effect of substituents on geminal proton–proton coupling constants. III
The effect of substituents at the 3-position in a series of N-methyl 5,6-dihydro-7H,12H-di-benzo[c,f]azocines on the geminal coupling constants of the C-12 methylene protons has been determined. The slope of the Hammett plot of 2J vs. σ has been found to be +0.20. The orientation of the methylene protons with respect to the π orbitals of the benzene ring bearing the substituent is such that no hyperconjugative effect should be present. The value of +0.20 is in contrast to a previously measured slope of −1.9 for compounds having a geometry ideal for hyperconjugative effects and substantiates the predictions of theoretical MO calculations. As a result, the reliability of this conformational dependence of ρ for use in conformational analysis has been strengthened.A comparison of the data for the azocines with those in the literature indicates the difference between the minimum and maximum effects of a phenyl substituent on a geminal coupling constant of an attached methylene group is 5.5 Hz.