1H- and 13C-NMR as tools to study aluminium coordination chemistry -: aqueous Al(III)-citrate complexes

Based on the use thermodynamic and solid state structure data, H-1- and C-13-NMR is a very useful tool to understand the conformational and dynamic behavior of complexes containing organic ligands in solution. In this paper we describe shortly the possibilities of the assignation of the spectra by means of modern NMR techniques. From the assigned spectra the scalar and dipolar couplings make it possible to determine the orientation of the ligand around the metal ion and the distances between hydrogen atoms in space. Aluminium-citrate complexes are reviewed as examples. It is shown that with the armory of correlation NMR spectroscopy unique insight can be obtained in the behavior of Al-citrate species even if oligomers are present in the solution. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.