Editing William Lipscomb (section)

===Nuclear magnetic resonance and the chemical shift===
[[File:Lipscomb-NMR-hexaborene-B6H10.png|thumb|right|NMR spectrum of hexaborane B<sub>6</sub>H<sub>10</sub> showing the interpretation of a spectrum to deduce the molecular structure. (click to read details)]]

In this area Lipscomb proposed that:
"... progress in structure determination, for new polyborane species and for substituted [[borane]]s and [[carborane]]s, would be greatly accelerated if the [boron-11] [[nuclear magnetic resonance]] spectra, rather than [[X-ray diffraction]], could be used."<ref name=Lipscomb1977/>
This goal was partially achieved, although X-ray diffraction is still necessary to determine many such atomic structures. The diagram at right shows a typical nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum of a borane molecule.

Lipscomb investigated, "... the carboranes, C<sub>2</sub>B<sub>10</sub>H<sub>12</sub>, and the sites of electrophilic attack on these compounds<ref name=Potenza1966Electrophilic/> using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. This work led to [Lipscomb's publication of a comprehensive] theory of chemical shifts.<ref name=Lipscomb1966Shift/> The calculations provided the first accurate values for the constants that describe the behavior of several types of molecules in magnetic or electric fields."<ref name=HutchinsonDictionary2011/>

Much of this work is summarized in a book by Gareth Eaton and William Lipscomb, ''NMR Studies of Boron Hydrides and Related Compounds'',<ref name=Eaton1969/> one of Lipscomb's two books.