Trends in chemical shift dispersion in fullerene derivatives. Local strain affects the magnetic environment of distant fullerene carbons.

13C NMR chemical shift assignments for 1,2-C60H2 (1) and a series of 13C-labeled fullerene derivatives with three-, four-, and five-membered annulated rings (2-4) were assigned using 2D INADEQUATE spectroscopy and examined for trends that correspond to the changes in strain in the fullerene cage. Chemical shifts of equivalent carbons from 1-4 show that eight carbons trend downfield (carbons 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 15, 16, 17) and the remaining six carbons (4, 6, 10, 12, 13, 14) trend upfield with increasing ring size. While the average chemical shift is nearly constant, the dispersion is greatest when the local strain is the least, in 1,2-C60H2 (1).