Substituent Chemical Shifts of (E)-1-Aryl-3-thienylpropen-1-ones

Substituent chemical shifts were examined for the 2- and 3-thiophene derivatives of chalcone and compared to the thiophene series of derivatives with the phenyl series. The chemical shift values for the α-carbons of the enones showed and inverse correlation with the Hammett σ values, but the correlation coefficients were moderate (r = 0.836 - 0.878). On the other hand, the β-carbons showed a normal correlation with excellent correlation coefficients (r = 0.994). The absolute magnitude of the ρ values for the α-carbon are about half of those of the β-carbon. The observation may be the result of a through-space transition of the electronic effect of the substituents in addition to the through bond transition