Methyl carbon chemical shifts of methylbenzoic acids and methylbenzoate anions

Methyl carbon chemical shifts have been assigned for methylbenzoic acids dissolved in CDCl3, and for methylbenzoate anions obtained by dissolving these acids in aqueous NaOH solution. Chemical shifts have been interpreted by means of additive substituent parameters which reflect conformational features existing between adjacent substituents. Barriers to rotation of a methyl group adjacent to a carboxyl or carboxylate group have been estimated to differ by less than 2 kJ mol−1 from the barrier of a methyl group in o‐xylene.