Coupling constant (J)

Definition

The coupling constant (J) is a measure in hertz (Hz) that quantifies the interaction strength between nuclear spins in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. It reflects how magnetic fields of neighboring nuclei influence each other, affecting the energy levels and thus the frequency at which nuclei absorb electromagnetic radiation.

Related terms

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy: A technique used to determine the structure of molecules by observing the interaction of nuclear spins when placed in a magnetic field.

Chemical Shift: The change in resonant frequency of a nucleus caused by the electronic environment, indicating how shielded or deshielded a nucleus is within a molecule.

Spin: Spin Splitting - A phenomenon observed in NMR spectroscopy where a signal is split into multiple peaks due to interactions between non-equivalent nuclei within a molecule