Data are considered about the structure and complexation of many compounds of tin and mercury, obtained by the present authors and other investigators by means of n.m.r. spectroscopy of "9Sn and '99Hg. In the case of tin compounds important information can bc derived from thc values of chemical shifts ö(' '9Sn) and spin-spin coupling constants J("9SnC-'H), J("9Sn-C-'9F) and 3(1 '9Sn-' 3C). Conclusions about the structure and complexation of mcrcury compounds arc dcrived mainly from the spin-spin coupling constantsThe application of n.m.r. spectroscopy to the study of organic and inorganic derivatives of metals, the isotopes of which have necessary magnetic properties, was shown to be very productive from the viewpoint of information about the behaviour of these compounds in solution. This information is very important for solving the many problems of inorganic and organometallic chemistry. One such problem is the question about the effect of solvents upon the rates and mechanisms of inorganic and organometallic compounds'.A review about the p.m.r. spectra of different compounds of metals was published recently2. In the present work we are illustrating the possibilities of applying n.m.r. spectroscopy of heavy nuclei to the study of the structure and complexation of organic and inorganic derivatives of metals, using the data about the chemical shifts of "9Sn and '99Hg nuclei and their spinspin coupling constants with 'H, '3C and '9F for different compounds of tin and mercury.
TIN COMPOUNDSIn 1961 Burke and Lauterbur3 studied ''9Sn n.m.r. spectra of eighteen organic and inorganic derivatives of tin and showed that ö( "9Sn) varied by 1850 ppm depending upon the structure of the molecules. It was assumed that such a large range of 5( '9Sn) values cannot be rationalized by changes in the diamagnetic term of the ''9Sn screening constant, but that it merely reflects 147