BRAINCAKEDeuterated Solvents
For NMR, the sample is dissolved in a solvent. The solvent is present in far greater amount than the sample, so any signal it gives would swamp the peaks from the sample.
In 1H NMR, an ordinary solvent containing hydrogen atoms would give a huge peak. Instead, a deuterated solvent is used, in which every hydrogen atom has been replaced by deuterium, 2H or D.
The most common is CDCl3, deuterated trichloromethane (deuterochloroform), made from CHCl3. Deuterium nuclei do not absorb in the same frequency range as 1H, so the solvent gives no peak on a 1H NMR spectrum.
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More in NMR Spectroscopy
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
- Chemical Shift
- The TMS Standard
- 13C NMR Spectroscopy
- Interpreting 13C NMR Spectra
- 1H NMR Spectroscopy
- Relative Peak Areas
- Spin-Spin Splitting
All 12 lessons in NMR Spectroscopy · All OCR A-level Organic Chemistry topics