APT Spectra
Another useful way of determining how many protons a carbon in a molecule is bonded to is to use an Attached Proton Test, which distinguishes between carbon atoms with even or odd number of attached hydrogens. A proper spin-echo sequence is able to distinguish between S, I2S and I1S, I3S spin systems: the first will appear as positive peaks in the spectrum, while the latter as negative peaks (pointing downwards), while retaining relative simplicity in the spectrum since it is still broadband proton decoupled.
Even though this technique does not distinguish fully between CHn groups, it is so easy and reliable that it is frequently employed as a first attempt to assign peaks in the spectrum and elucidate the structure.
Read more about this topic: Carbon-13 NMR
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