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Thallium (Tl) has two high sensitivity NMR active nuclei, ²⁰³Tl and ²⁰⁵Tl. ²⁰⁵Tl is more sensitive and yields less broad signals than ²⁰³Tl (fig. 1). ²⁰⁵Tl is therefore the preferred thallium nucleus. Both nuclei are spin-half and yield narrow signals in the absence of oxygen. Many thallium salts bind oxygen from the air which typically causes paramagnetic broadenning of 10's of Hz. Thallium has a very wide chemical shift range (Fig. 2). However, thallium resonates at a frequency outside the range of most NMR probes so Thallium is rarely studied by NMR.

Fig. 1. Comparison of ²⁰³Tl and ²⁰⁵Tl NMR for TlNO₃ in D₂O

Fig. 2. Chemical shifts of thallium

²⁰³Thallium NMR

²⁰³Tl (fig. 3) yields signals that are less sensitive and slightly broader than ²⁰⁵Tl. Therefore ²⁰⁵Tl NMR is the preferred thallium nucleus.

Fig. 3. ²⁰³Tl NMR for TlNO₃ in D₂O

Properties of ²⁰³Tl

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Property	Value
Spin	1/2
Natural abundance	29.52%
Chemical shift range	5300 ppm, from -200 to 5100
Frequency ratio (Ξ)	57.123200%
Reference compound	TlNO3 at infinite diultion in H2O
Linewidth of reference	100 Hz in air
T1 of reference	0.02 s
Receptivity rel. to 1H at natural abundance	0.0579
Receptivity rel. to 1H when enriched	0.196
Receptivity rel. to 13C at natural abundance	340
Receptivity rel. to 13C when enriched	1152

²⁰⁵Thallium NMR

²⁰⁵Tl (fig. 4) yields signals that are more sensitive and slightly less broad than ²⁰³Tl. Therefore ²⁰⁵Tl NMR is the preferred thallium nucleus.

Fig. 4. ²⁰⁵Tl NMR for TlNO₃ in D₂O

Properties of ²⁰⁵Tl

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Property	Value
Spin	1/2
Natural abundance	70.48%
Chemical shift range	5300 ppm, from -200 to 5100
Frequency ratio (Ξ)	57.683838%
Reference compound	TlNO3 at infinite diultion in H2O
Linewidth of reference	70 Hz in air
T1 of reference	0.03 s
Receptivity rel. to 1H at natural abundance	0.142
Receptivity rel. to 1H when enriched	0.201
Receptivity rel. to 13C at natural abundance	836
Receptivity rel. to 13C when enriched	1186

Safety note

Some of the materials mentioned here are very dangerous. Ask a qualified chemist for advice before handling them. Qualified chemists should check the relevant safety literature before handling or giving advice about unfamiliar substances. NMR solvents are toxic and most are flammable. Specifically, thallium and its salts are very toxic.

References

• J. Hinton, "Thallium NMR spectroscopy", Bull. Magn. Reson, 13, 90-108 (1992).