Molecular ordering and structure of quasi-spherical solutes by liquid crystal NMR and Monte Carlo simulations: The case of norbornadiene

Norbornadiene ( a C-2v symmetry bicyclic rigid hydrocarbon) dissolved in three different nematic mesophases has been studied by liquid crystal NMR, to contribute to a better understanding of the influence of solvents on the solute's ordering and structure. The main results achieved by this work can be summarized as follows: (i) the order parameters obtained by the analysis of the H-1 NMR spectra ( at different temperatures) were successfully reproduced by a recently proposed model of solute/liquid crystal interactions, by using Monte Carlo numerical simulations; (ii) the theoretical (B3LYP/6-31++G**) equilibrium geometry of norbornadiene, vibrationally corrected by using the force field calculated at the same level, is compatible ( within, at most, a 5% error) with experimental LXNMR data. This leads to the conclusion that the structure is not significantly distorted by the tested solvents.