Q 9.3: how many triplets would you expect to observe in the 1h nmr spectra for o-chlorotoluene

Hello!

You would expect to observe 2 triplets in the ¹H NMR spectra for o-chlorotoluene.

Multiplicity observed in ¹H NMR spectra when the atom couples with a neighbor ¹H atom. The multiplicity is equal to N+1 where N is the number of neighbor atoms.

To observe a triplet, you'll need a molecule with 2 neighbor atoms. In o-chlorotoluene (shown in the figure), only protons C and D have 2 neighbor atoms (B and D; A and C, respectively), so you'll expect to see a 2 triplets.

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