The characterization of primary, secondary, and tertiary vanadate alkyl esters by 51V nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

A variety of alkyl vanadates has been studied by 51V nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. It was found that the equilibrium constant for condensation of vanadate with alcohols is insensitive to whether the hydroxyl group is primary, secondary, or tertiary. These products, however, have characteristic vanadium chemical shifts that allow assignment of nmr signals to the appropriate ester. It was also found that chemical shifts are additive in the sense that the chemical shifts of the esters ROVO3H− are one half the chemical shift of the diesters (RO)2VO2− when those shifts are given relative to −559 ppm. This effect is independent of whether the signals are to high or low field of −559 ppm and the additivity extends to mixed ligand systems. This value of −559 ppm is close but not equal to the chemical shift of the vanadate monoanion, H2VO41−, which is at −561 ppm. These results are at variance with arguments concerning the effects of ligand bulkiness on chemical shifts of vanadium(V) complexes.