14N nuclear magnetic resonance of covalent azides

Abstract

¹⁴ N Chemical shifts are reported for hydrazoic acid, certain organic and organoarsenic azides, and a number of metal azido-complexes. The shifts are related where possible to the electronic characteristics of the atom or group to which the azide is covalently attached and to the mode of attachment.

No spin–spin coupling effects are observed but the shifts provide some evidence for molecular association or azide exchange in the compounds Me₂AsN₃ and Et₂AsN₃. The covalent character of the metal–azide bond is demonstrated by the appearance of three distinct ¹⁴N n.m.r. signals for each of the azido-complexes studied.