The nature of the internal rotational barrier in benzyl chloride An interpretation of the dipolar coupling constants obtained from the analysis of the proton N.M.R. spectra of samples dissolved in liquid crystal solvents

The dipolar couplings obtained previously for samples of benzyl chloride dissolved in liquid crystal solvents are re-interpreted in terms of a theoretical model which allows for the dependence of orientational ordering on molecular shape. The shape of the potential function V(θ) governing rotation about the phenyl-C bond is derived and found to be similar in form to those obtained by electron diffraction and ab initio molecular orbital calculations.