1H n.m.r. technique for characterization of polymerized petroleum pitches

Abstract A new proton n.m.r. technique has been developed for the chemical characterization of polymerized petroleum pitches with pyridine-insoluble contents as high as 80%. The polymerized pitches were completely solubilized for conventional 1 H n.m.r. evaluation in a mixed solvent system consisting of S 2 Cl 2 -SO 2 Cl 2 . Although solubilization occurs via the addition of chlorine to the polynuclear aromatic rings, the n.m.r. spectra can still be quantitatively interpreted. Several applications are discussed.