Substituent effects on geminal proton–proton coupling constants

The geminal coupling constants between the non-equivalent benzylic protons of a series of para- and meta-substituted N-benzyl-2-methylpiperidines were shown to be proportional to the Hammett σ constants of the substituents with ρ −1.38 in carbon tetrachloride, −1.21 in benzene, and nearly 0 in 1 N DCl solutions. The ρ values were compared with those of other series and were discussed in terms of the possible conformations involved. The chemical shifts of the benzylic protons of the piperidine derivatives did not give a good correlation with the Hammett σ constants in these solvents.