Anisotropy and asymmetry of the polarizability of anthracene, studied by NMR

Abstract

NMR of dielectrically aligned apolar molecules in solution is presented as a new technique for the study of their electric polarizabilitytensor (α). Spectral changes in the 2H NMR spectrum of anthracene‐d 1 0 (in dilute benzene solution), subjected to a very strong external dcelectric field, were interpreted in terms of Δα and δα, the anisotropy and asymmetry of the polarizability. The results are: Δα=(15.4±0.4)×10− 2 4 cm3 and δα=(−9.6±1.2)×10− 2 4 cm3. The new NMR method is outlined and compared with existing methods for the determination of α.