An experimental and theoretical study of the deuterium quadrupole coupling constants of glycine

Single crystals of α-glycine with two, three, and five of the protons replaced by deuterium are studied at 4.2 K using electron–nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectroscopy to detect the NMR transitions of the distant deuterons on diamagnetic molecules. Complete deuteron quadrupole interaction tensors, and indirectly the electric field gradient tensors, are determined for all the labeled positions. Proton dipolar coupling tensors are also obtained for the methylene hydrogens in the case of glycine-d3. The relationship between the deuterium quadrupole coupling constants and the inverse cube of the bond length is refined and discussed. The resulting structural information including X–D bond lengths and bond angles is compared with data obtained by neutron diffraction. In addition, extensive calculations at both the semiempirical and ab initio levels are carried out to determine the electric field gradient at the hydrogen positions. Both intramolecular and lattice contributions are considered.