Proximity effects in pyridines. Proton chemical shifts in substituted methyl pyridinecarboxylates

Abstract Ring and ester proton chemical shifts in six series of substituted methyl pyridinecarboxylates have been measured. Results for ring protons ortho and para to the substituent can generally be accounted for by additive substituent, ester and nitrogen effects. Shifts for protons meta to the substituent, when compared with analogous shifts in monosubstituted benzenes, provide evidence of substituent–nitrogen interactions. In particular, a special effect is noted for series where both the proton and substituent are adjacent to the nitrogen. The origin of this effect is discussed. The ester proton results lead to essentially the same conclusions. Although this probe is much less sensitive to substituent effects, the same special effect is evident for the methyl 6‐X‐picolinate series.