The nuclear magnetic relaxation times of 1,5-pentanediol and 1,3-butanediol were measured as a function of temperature with and without the hydroxyl hydrogens deuterated. The T₁ curves were least squares fitted to an equation containing a skewed distribution of correlation times. The equation gave a satisfactory fit indicating that the experimental results are consistent with such a distribution. ᴛ₀, the maximum correlation time at each temperature and beta, two parameters which measures the degree of distribution were obtained. Beta varied from 0.95 to 0.17 at a temperature range of 30°C to -30°C. An equation was found to fit the beta parameters of the deuterated diols but not the nondeuterated. The plots of log T₁ and log T₂ versus the inverse temperature and the results of the least squares fit show that the overall rotational motions of 1,3-butanediol is slower than 1.5-pentanediol, and E. the activation energy is also greater.
