Molecular mechanics, semiempirical (AM1), and aromatic shielding effect calculations and DNMR experiments show that MTPA esters are constituted by three main conformers in close populations due to restricted rotation around the Cα−CO and Cα−Ph bonds. The small predominance of one conformer and the simultaneous operation of aromatic shielding and deshielding effects on the alcohol part, due to the orientation of the Ph ring, explains the small Δδ RS values observed. A graphical description of the aromatic magnetic field distribution in the conformers of MTPA and MPA esters and its use to correlate the average chemical shifts with the absolute stereochemistry is presented. Comparison of MTPA with MPA (two conformers) as reagents for determination by NMR of absolute stereochemistry indicates that MTPA esters are intrinsically limited by the greater complexity of their conformational composition, yield very small Δδ RS values, and are consequently less reliable for configurations assignment of chiral alcohols than MPA or other arylmethoxyacetic acid reagents such as (R)- and (S)-α-methoxy-α-(9-anthryl)acetic acids.

The aim of this work is to convince practitioners of (31)P NMR methods to regard simple GIAO quantum chemical calculations as a safe tool in structural analysis of organophosphorus compounds. A comparative analysis of calculated GIAO versus experimental (31)P NMR chemical shifts (CSs) for a wide range of phosphorus containing model compounds was carried out. A variety of combinations (at the HF, DFT (B3LYP and PBE1PBE), and MP2 levels using 6-31G(d), 6-31+G(d), 6-31G(2d), 6-31G(d,p), 6-31+G(d,p), 6-311G(d), 6-311G(2d,2p), 6-311++G(d,p), 6-311++G(2d,2p), and 6-311++G(3df,3pd) basis sets) were tested. On the whole, it is shown that, in contrast to what is claimed in the literature, high level of theory is not needed to obtain rather accurate predictions of (31)P CSs by the GIAO method. The PBE1PBE/6-31G(d)//PBE1PBE/6-31G(d) level can be recommended for express estimation of (31)P CSs. The PBE1PBE/6-31G(2d)//PBE1PBE/6-31G(d) combination can be recommended for routine applications. The PBE1PBE/6-311G(2d,2p)//PBE1PBE/6-31+G(d) level can be proposed to obtain better results at a reasonable cost. Scaling by linear regression parameters significantly improves results. The results obtained using these combinations were demonstrated in (31)P CS calculations for a variety of medium (large) size organic compounds of practical interest. Care has to be taken for compounds that may be involved in exchange between different structural forms (self-associates, associates with solvent, tautomers, and conformers). For phosphorus located near the atoms of third period elements ((CH3)3PS and P(SCH3)3) the impact of relativistic effects may be notable.

The prediction of the absolute configuration of β-chiral primary alcohols from the 1H NMR spectra of their esters with (R)- and (S)-9-anthrylmethoxyacetic acids (9-AMA, 3) is discussed. Low-temperature NMR experiments, MM, semiempirical, ab initio, and aromatic shielding effect calculations allowed the identification of the main conformers and showed that, in all alcohols for which the calculated ΔE ag (CVff) is in the range of 0.7−1.5 kcal/mol, conformer a / a is the most stable. A simple model for the assignment of the absolute configuration from NMR data is presented and its reliability corroborated with alcohols (8−20) of known configuration. Nevertheless, cyclic alcohols 21−23 have much higher ΔE ag values (2.2−3.1 kcal/mol) due to their different conformational composition, and their absolute configuration cannot be reliably predicted by this method.