In the present work, utility of diffusion-ordered two-dimensional NMR spect
roscopy (DOSY) has been demonstrated to analyse and assign the crowded NMR
spectra of mixtures of hydrocarbons using H-1- and C-13-detected DOSY exper
iments. For the first time, DOSY spectrum of a petroleum aromatic fraction
is shown and assessed to illustrate the future applications of the techniqu
e for the analysis of such complex and heterogeneous molecular mixtures. (C
) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.