The Intermolecular NOE Depends on Isotope Selection: Short Range vs Long Range Behavior.

The nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) is a powerful tool in molecular structure elucidation, combining the subtle chemical shift of NMR and three-dimensional information independent of chemical connectivity. Its usage for intermolecular studies, however, is fundamentally limited by an unspecific long-ranged interaction behavior. This joint experimental and computational work shows that proper selection of interacting isotopes can overcome these limitations: Isotopes with strongly differing gyromagnetic ratios give rise to short-ranged intermolecular NOEs.