13C-Decoupled J-Coupling Spectroscopy Using Two-Dimensional Nuclear Magnetic Resonance at Zero-Field

We present a two-dimensional method for obtaining 13C-decoupled, 1H-coupled nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra in zero magnetic field using coherent spin-decoupling. The result is a spectrum determined only by the proton-proton J-coupling network. Detection of NMR signals in zero magnetic field requires at least two different nuclear spin species, but the proton J-spectrum is independent of isotopomer, thus potentially simplifying spectra and thereby improving the analytical capabilities of zero-field NMR. The protocol does not rely on a difference in Larmor frequency between the coupled nuclei, allowing for the direct determination of J-coupling constants between chemically equivalent spins. We obtain the 13C-decoupled zero-field spectrum of [1-13C]-propionic acid and identify conserved quantum numbers governing the appearance of cross peaks in the two-dimensional spectrum.