The boiling points of certain saturated heterocycles are listed in the first table and are compared with those of the corresponding cycloalkanes (rightmost column of the table). The melting points or boiling points of common heteroaromatic compounds and their substituted derivatives are compared with those of benzene and its derivatives in the second table.

Replacement of a two-carbon unit (two carbon and two hydrogen atoms, molecular weight equal to 26) by a single sulfur atom (atomic weight 32) has little effect on the melting or boiling point. On the other hand, replacement of a two-carbon unit by an oxygen atom (atomic weight 16) lowers the boiling point by about 40 °C (72 °F), which is to be expected because of the decreased molecular weight of the furan compounds (lighter compounds being more volatile). Introduction of nitrogen atoms into the benzene ring is accompanied by less-regular changes. Replacement of a two-carbon unit by an imino (NH) group, or of a single carbon by a nitrogen atom, increases the boiling point. Furthermore, making these two changes simultaneously increases the boiling point even more, probably as the result of intermolecular association by hydrogen bonding (a weak form of attachment via certain types of hydrogen atoms; see chemical bonding) between the pyridine-like nitrogen atom and the imino group.

The effects of substituent groups in heteroaromatic rings show considerable regularity. Methyl (CH₃) and ethyl (C₂H₅) groups attached to ring carbon atoms usually increase the boiling point by about 20–30 °C (36–54 °F) and 50–60 °C (90–108 °F), respectively, whereas a similar attachment to a ring nitrogen atom (e.g., pyrrole → 1-methylpyrrole) significantly decreases the boiling point because of decreased ease of intermolecular association by hydrogen bonding (the active hydrogen having been replaced by a hydrocarbon group). Heterocyclic carboxylic acids and amides are all solids at room temperature. Carboxylic acids of heterocycles containing a ring nitrogen atom usually melt at higher temperatures than those containing ring oxygen or sulfur atoms, because of hydrogen bonding. Compounds containing both a ring nitrogen atom and a hydroxyl (OH) or amino (NH₂) group are usually relatively high-melting solids. Compounds containing chlorine (Cl) usually have boiling points similar to those of the corresponding ethyl-substituted compounds.

Ultraviolet, infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, and mass spectra

Spectroscopic studies of heterocyclic compounds, like those of other organic compounds, have became of great importance as means of identification of unknown materials, as criteria for purity, and as probes for investigating the electronic structures of molecules, thereby explaining and helping to predict their reactions. The ultraviolet spectrum of an organic compound (the pattern of its light absorption in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum) is characteristic of the π-electron system of the molecule—i.e., of the arrangement of double bonds within the structure. The ultraviolet spectra of heteroaromatic compounds show general similarity to those of benzenoid compounds (compounds with one or more benzene rings), and the effects of substituents can usually be rationalized in a similar way.

The infrared spectrum of an organic compound, with its complexity of bands, provides an excellent “fingerprint” of the compound—far more characteristic than a melting point. It also can be used to identify certain common groups, such as carbonyl (C=O) and imino, as well as various heterocyclic ring systems.

Magnetic resonance spectra are indispensable today for studies in heterocyclic chemistry. Proton resonance spectra, the most common type, yield information regarding the number of hydrogen atoms in the molecule, their chemical environment, and their relative orientation in space. Mass spectra are used to determine not only the complete molecular formula of the compound but also the molecular structure from the way the molecule fragments.