Deuterium Naturally Present in Solvent and Site-Specific Isotope Population of Deuterium-Enriched Solute

As the concentration of aqueous $CD_3OH$ solutions was decreased, the OD peaks in $^2H$ NMR spectra grew relative to the $CD_3$ peaks. Isotope impurity for OH groups of $CD_3OH$ and deuterium naturally present in water contributed to the OD peaks. Using these peak area data, the site-specific isotope populations of isotope enriched chemicals were measured. In addition, the method using both $^1H$ and $^2H$ NMR spectroscopy was demonstrated with neat $CD_3OH$ to measure the site-specific isotope populations. The results indicate that although it represents only ~0.015% of hydrogen isotopes, the deuterium naturally present in solvents cannot be ignored, especially when the concentration of deuterium-enriched solutes is varied. Proton/deuteron exchange between methyl and methyl/hydroxyl groups was confirmed to be negligible, while that among hydroxyl groups was detectable.