Trends in chemical shift dispersion in fullerene derivatives. Local strain affects the magnetic environment of distant fullerene carbons

¹³C NMR chemical shift assignments for 1,2-C₆₀H ₂ (1) and a series of ¹³C-labeled fullerene derivatives with three-, four-, and five-membered annulated rings (2-4) were assigned using 2D INADEQUATE spectroscopy and examined for trends that correspond to the changes in strain in the fullerene cage. Chemical shifts of equivalent carbons from 1-4 show that eight carbons trend downfield (carbons 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 15, 16, 17) and the remaining six carbons (4, 6, 10, 12, 13, 14) trend upfield with increasing ring size. While the average chemical shift is nearly constant, the dispersion is greatest when the local strain is the least, in 1,2-C ₆₀H₂ (1). ¹³C chemical shifts are not well correlated with trends in ring size, with strain as measured by the pyramidalization angle of nearby carbons, or with the geometry of the fullerene cage. We interpret the results as evidence that subtle geometrical changes lead to modulation of the strength of ring currents near the site of addition and, in turn, the magnetic field generated by these ring currents affects the chemical shift of carbons on the far side of the fullerene core. These results highlight ring currents as being critically important to the determination of ¹³C chemical shifts in fullerene derivatives.