Electron-nuclear spin transitions in free phosphonyl radicals detected via CIDNP

Electron-nuclear spin transitions in short-lived phosphonyl radicals have been investigated experimentally by nuclear magnetic resonance detection of nuclear polarization in diamagnetic reaction products in low magnetic fields (15–80 mT) for³¹P-centered radicals formed in laser photolysis of (2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)diphenylphosphine oxide and 2,4,6-trimethylbenzoylphosphonic acid dimethyl ester. A theoretical model on the basis of the numerical solution of the kinetic equation for the density matrix of a radical with one nonzero hyperfine coupling constant has been employed to study the main peculiarities of this effect and to account for the data quantitatively.     

Electron spin relaxation of radicals in γ-irradiated malonic acid and methyl malonic acid

Radicals generated by γ-irradiation of malonic acid and methyl malonic acid were studied as a function of temperature by inversion recovery, echo-detected saturation recovery and electron-electron double resonance (ELDOR) at X-band, and by continuous-wave saturation recovery at X-band and S-band. ELDOR reductions for malonic acid radical in polycrystalline and single-crystal samples indicate that nuclear spin relaxation is faster than both electron spin relaxation and cross relaxation between 93 and 233 K. Deuteration of the carboxylate protons caused the maximum ELDOR reduction to shift from about 110 to 150 K, consistent with the assignment of the rapid nuclear spin relaxation to hydrogen-bonded proton dynamics. ELDOR enhancements for both radicals formed in methyl malonic acid indicate that cross relaxation is faster than both electron spin relaxation and nuclear spin relaxation between 77 and 220 K. Enhanced cross relaxation and electron spin relaxation are attributed to the rotation of methyl groups at a rate comparable to the electron Larmor frequency. The temperature dependence of the enhancement of 1/T _1e was analyzed to determine the activation energies for methyl rotation. The same radical is formed in irradiated methyl malonic acid and L-alanine, but the barrier to rotation of the α-methyl is 500 K in the methyl malonic acid host and 1500 K in the L-alanine host, which indicates a large impact of the lattice on the barrier to rotation.     

X-band Electron Spin Relaxation Times for Four Aromatic Radicals in Fluid Solution and Comparison with Other Organic Radicals

X-band electron spin relaxation times of BDPA (1:1 α,γ-bisdiphenylene-β-phenylallyl), galvinoxyl 2,6-di-tert-butyl-α-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-oxo-2,5-cyclohexadien-1-ylidene)-p-tolyloxy, DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and thianthrene radicals in fluid solution were measured by electron spin echo and inversion recovery at ambient temperature. Tumbling correlation times are estimated to be in the range of 20–30 ps. In this fast tumbling regime T ₁ ~ T ₂. Relaxation times are compared with previously reported values for symmetrically substituted triarylmethyl, semiquinone, and nitroxide radicals. The concentration dependence of spin lattice relaxation for neutral BDPA in toluene is about 10³ times greater than for anionic trityl radicals in water. T ₁ decreases in the order carbon-center BDPA > galvinoxyl > DPPH > thianthrene. The dominant relaxation mechanisms are proposed to be a local mode for BDPA, spin rotation, local mode and modulation of anisotropic proton hyperfine coupling for galvinoxyl, modulation of anisotropic nitrogen hyperfine for DPPH, and spin rotation plus modulation of anisotropic proton hyperfine coupling for thianthrene.     

Microwave spectrum of NF2

About 350 lines in the microwave spectrum of NF₂ have been measured in various ranges of frequency between 13.0 and 65.2 GHz by using two types of Zeeman effect spectrometers. Complete assignment of all lines has been achieved and, via the general microwave computer program SPINRO, the rotational constants, centrifugal distortion constants, dipole moment, electronic spin-rotation coupling constants, the constants for the coupling of the several nuclear spins with the electron spin and the nitrogen quadrupole coupling constants have all been obtained.By drawing upon the observed vibrational frequencies the average geometry of NF₂ has been evaluated. Force constants and Coriolis coupling constants have also been derived.The values of the spin coupling constants for N and for F indicate that NF₂ is a π-radical with the spin density mainly located on nitrogen. The multiplet patterns indicate that the ground electronic state wavefunction is antisymmetric to rotation about the molecular symmetry axis and so, for a π-radical, identifies the ground state as ²B₁ as has previously been assumed for this molecule.     

A CW-EPR and ESEEM spectroscopic study of the dithiadiazolyl radicals p-XC6F4CNSSN (X = CN, Br)

Two dithiadiazolyl radicals, p-NCC₆F₄CNSSN and p-BrC₆F₄CNSSN, have recently been found to be paramagnetic in the solid state. While the β-phase of the first one exhibits spontaneous magnetization below 36 K, the second one shows a paramagnetic character in the solid state. The spin density distribution in these radicals is examined through continuous-wave electron paramagnetic resonance and electron spin echo envelope modulation spectroscopies. Hyperfine correlation sublevel spectroscopy provides information about the interaction of the unpaired spin with F and N nuclei. A signal coming from the interaction with Br nucleus is also detected. The superhyperfme coupling constants of the unpaired electron with the magnetic nuclei are obtained and values of the corresponding spin densities, ?_s and ?_σ - ?_π, can be estimated in the isolated radicals. Spin density distribution has also been calculated in both molecules with density functional theory, being in excellent agreement with those determined from the spectra. The spin density is mainly concentrated in the dithiadiazolyl ring, but some spin density is observed on the fluorinated aromatic rings. They also provide a strong basis to understand the differences of the magnetic behavior of both molecules in terms of their respective packing in the solid state.     

Time-resolved Fourier-transform and continuous-wave ESR studies on photo-initiated polymerization

Radical polymerization of vinyl monomers as initiated by the diphenylphosphinoyl (DPO) radical which is formed by the photo-cleavage of 2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide (TMDPO) was investigated by continuous-wave electron spin resonance (cw ESR) and Fourier-transform (FT) ESR. Well-resolved hyperfine structures (hfs’s) of the starting radicals were observed by the time-resolved cw ESR for vinyl acetate, ethyl vinyl ether, styrene, methyl methacrylate (MMA), and isoprene. The rates of formation and the spin-lattice relaxation were determined by time-resolved FT ESR for these starting radicals. In the polymerization of MMA and isoprene the primary propagating radicals were found for the first time by the observation of their well-resolved hfs’s with timeresolved cw ESR. On the basis of the kinetic analysis including the spin-lattice relaxation, the rates of formation and the spin-lattice relaxation were determined by simulation of the time profile of FT ESR for the primary propagating radicals of MMA and isoprene. The rate of the primary propagating step was found to be by two orders greater than an average value of whole propagating steps as obtained by a steady-state measurement.     

Magnetic resonance of paramagnetic ion-nuclei in metals and superconductors

The magnetic resonance lineshape of paramagnetic ion-nuclei in metals is calculated using the temperature Green functions method and is analyzed for limiting cases of fast and slow spin lattice relaxation of localized moments. The longitudinal spin lattice relaxation rate for paramagnetic ion-nuclei in type II superconductors due to the hyperfine coupling with local moments is calculated. The influence of the fluctuation coupling of electrons on relaxation of paramagnetic ion-nuclei in “dirty” type II superconductors is investigated in magnetic field slightly above the upper critical field H_c2.     

EPR spectroscopy of fullerene adducts

EPR spectroscopy has been used to identify and characterize the paramagnetic adducts of small free radicals with C₆₀ through measurements of the hyperfine interactions of protons and¹³C nuclei. The initially formed mono-radical adducts (RC₆₀) have unpaired spin density localized near the point of attachment of the radical. Generally, they are in thermal equilibrium with their diamagnetic dimer, and have a surprisingly large barrier to internal rotation about the new bond. The tri- and penta-radical adducts have electronic structures similar to those of allyl and cyclopentadienyl radicals, respectively.NRCC No. 35262     

Spin-dependent recombination in GaAsN solid solutions

Room-temperature spin-dependent recombination in a series of GaAs_1?xN_x solid solutions (x = 2.1, 2.7, 3.4%) has been observed as manifested by a more than threefold decrease in intensity of the edge photoluminescence upon switching from circular to linear polarization of the exciting light or upon the application of a transverse magnetic field (～300 G). The interband absorption of the circularly polarized light is accompanied by the spin polarization of conduction electrons, which reaches 35% with an increase in the pumping level. The observed effects are explained in terms of the dynamic polarization of deep paramagnetic centers and the spin-dependent trapping of conduction electrons on these centers. The electron spin relaxation time, as estimated from the dependence of the edge photoluminescence depolarization in the transverse magnetic field (the Hanle effect) on the pumping intensity, is on the order of 1 ns. According to the adopted theory, the electron spin relaxation time in the presence of spin-dependent recombination is determined by a slow spin relaxation of localized electrons. The sign (positive) of the g factor of localized electrons has been experimentally determined from the direction of the magnetic-field-induced rotation of their average spin observed in the three GaAsN crystals studied.     

Spin relaxation studies on conducting poly(tetrathiafulvalene)

Magnetic parameters and the relaxation behavior of paramagnetic centers in an iodine-doped poly(tetrathiafulvalene) semiconductor with a d.c. conductivity of 10^?5 S·cm^?1 have been studied using mainly the 2 mm waveband EPR technique in the temperature range of 110–270 K. The EPR line shape analysis confirms the existence of immobile radicals pinne on short polymer chains and mobile polarons with different relaxation parameters in slightly doped poly(tetrathiafulvalene). The temperature dependences of electron spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation times of paramagnetic centers of both types have been determined independently using the saturation method at the operation frequency ν _e = 140 GHz. An anisotropic slow libration of immobile polarons with an activation energy of 0.02 eV have been registered for the first time using the saturation transfer EPR method. The temperature dependences of intrachain diffusion and interchain hopping rates in poly(tetrathiafulvalene) are determined from theT ₁ andT ₂ EPR data. The interchain spin dynamics is shown to correlate with libration of polarons trapped on polymer chains and is in good agreement with a hopping charge transport mechanism.     

Multifrequency EPR of four triarylmethyl radicals

Continuous-wave spectra at W-band of four triarylmethyl (trityl) radicals at 100 K in 1∶1 water-glycerol exhibit rhombic electron paramagnetic resonance spectra. The rigid-lattice line widths at W-band are only 3 to 5 times larger than at X-band or S-band, and fluid-solution line widths are much narrower than those for rigid lattice, which indicates that unresolved anisotropic nuclear hyperfine couplings make significant contributions to the rigid-lattice line widths. Spin-flip lines are observed in glassy-solution spectra at X-band and S-band, but not at W-band or 250 MHz. At 100 KT _m is dominated by spin diffusion of solvent protons and is independent of microwave frequency. Between about 130 and 170 K, 1/T _m for trityl-CH₃ is enhanced by rotation of the methyl groups at a rate comparable to inequivalences in the hyperfine interaction. Motional averaging of anisotropic interactions enhances spin echo dephasing between about 200 and 300 K. The temperature dependence of 1/T ₁ is similar for the four radicals and is consistent with assignment of the Raman process and a local mode as the dominant relaxation processes. The similarity inT ₁ values at W-band and X-band supports this assignment.     

Multifrequency time-resolved EPR (9.5GHz and 95GHz) on covalently linked porphyrin-quinone model systems for photosynthetic electron transfer: effect of molecular dynamics on electron spin polarization

Covalently linked porphyrin–quinone model systems for photosynthetic electron transfer were examined by using time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) at intermediate magnetic field and microwave frequency (0.34T/9.5GHz, X-band) and high field and frequency (3.4T/95GHz, W-band). The paramagnetic transients studied were the light-induced spin-correlated radical pair states of the donor–acceptor complex in polar solvents below the melting point and in the soft glass phase of a liquid crystal. It is shown that the systems form strongly exchange-coupled radical pairs, whose TREPR lineshapes are determined mainly by fast electron recombination together with both spin–lattice relaxation and modulation of the exchange interaction. Below the melting point the spin–lattice relaxation rate naturally slows down, but that of the spin on the quinone site is still of the order of 10⁶ s^-1. Most probably this is due to contributions from spin–rotation interaction, and dependent on the molecular orientation with respect to the magnetic field. This relaxation anisotropy is related to anisotropic motion of the quinone site in the solvent cage. The results allow conclusions to be drawn concerning the molecular dynamics and flexibility of the systems. To yield long-lived radical pair states that would mimic photosynthetic electron transfer, the two mechanisms described, modulation of exchange and spin–rotation interactions, have to be suppressed by reducing the molecular flexibility of the complex.     

Water-proton-spin-lattice-relaxation dispersion of paramagnetic protein solutions

The paramagnetic contributions to water-proton-spin-lattice relaxation rate constants in protein systems spin-labeled with nitroxide radicals were re-examined. As noted by others, the strength of the dipolar coupling between water protons and the protein-bound nitroxide radical often appears to be larger than physically reasonable when the relaxation is assumed to be controlled by 3-dimensional diffusive processes in the vicinity of the spin label. We examine the effects of the surface in biasing the diffusive exploration of the radical region and derive a relaxation model that incorporates 2-dimensional dynamics at the interfacial layer. However, we find that the local 2-dimensional dynamics changes the shape of the relaxation dispersion profile but does not necessarily reproduce the low-field relaxation efficiency found by experiment. We examine the contributions of long-range dipolar couplings between the paramagnetic center and protein-bound-water molecules and find that the contributions from these several long range couplings may be competitive with translational contributions because the correlation time for global rotation of the protein is approximately 1000 times longer than that for the diffusive motion of water at the interfacial region. As a result the electron-proton dipolar coupling to rare protein-bound-water-molecule protons may be significant for protein systems that accommodate long-lived-water molecules. Although the estimate of local diffusion coefficients is not seriously compromised because it derives from the Larmor frequency dependence, these several contributions confound efforts to fit relaxation data quantitatively with unique models.     

Spin dynamics investigated by EPR in the paramagnetic regime of La2/3Ca1/3Mn1−x Me x O3 (Me = Al, In) manganites

We report an electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) investigation of the spin dynamics in the paramagnetic regime of the colossal magnetoresistive manganites La_2/3Ca_1/3Mn_1?x Me _x O₃ (Me=Al, In;x≤0.05). The temperature dependences of the EPR linewidth and integral intensity have been analyzed in terms of the bottleneck spin relaxation and small-polaron hopping models. The exchange coupling integral between Mn³⁺ and Mn⁴⁺ ions and the polaron activation energy decrease with increasing doping level. A discussion is given concerning the factors which could explain the observed changes.     

ESR, ENDOR, and ESEEM investigations on UV-irradiated 2,4,6-tri-tert-butyl phenol crystals

Electron spin resonance (ESR), electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR), and electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) measurements were carried out for UV-irradiated 2,4,6-tri-tert-butyl phenol in the polycrystalline state. The radical produced in the crystal was detected by ESR and identified to be the corresponding phenoxyl radical, which is well characterized in the chemical oxidations in solutions. ENDOR and ESEEM spectra were unambiguously analyzed in terms of the hyperfine coupling constants determined from well-resolved ESR in solutions. Radical pairs in the crystals were also ascertained, and together with the single-crystal study the analysis disclosed zero-field splitting parameters in the triplet states. ESEEM time decays gave relaxation timesT ₁ = 5.94 andT ₂ = 1.12 μs at room temperature. These appropriate values permit an easy detection of the spin echoes, and therefore this radical matrix can be used as a useful standard for pulsed ESR investigations.     

Pulsed ESR and molecular motions

The possibilities of applying three different pulsed ESR techniques have been considered: 1. Phase relaxation measurements by electron spin echo (ESE) affords the estimation of the correlation time of the motion in the region up to 10^?5 s. The results of theoretical and experimental analysis of the effect of methyl group rotation in nitroxide radicals have been proposed. 2. The method of pulsed saturation involving detection of ESE signal allows the range of the measured times to be extended up to the values of about 10^?2 s. The rotation of CH₂ group in the CH₂CO₂ ^? radical and that of the CH₃ group in the CH₃CHCO₂ ^? radical have been investigated. 3. The method of pulsed saturation combined with pulsed scanning of H₀ allows the analysis of the rotationally induced redistribution of the pulsed saturation throughout the ESR spectra of the radicals. This version of pulsed ESR has been used to study the mobility of nitroxide spin labels.     

Effect of Zn2+ and Cu2+ on free radical properties of melanin fromCladosporium cladosporioides

Effect of metal ions on free radical properties of natural melanin produced by soil fungiCladosporium cladosporioides was studied. The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum of the studied melanin consists mainly of a single line of eumelanin, and only a very weak signal of pheomelanin was observed. o-Semiquinone free radicals form paramagnetic centers in melanin. Diamagnetic Zn²⁺ ions produce an increase in the free radical concentration in melanin. Quenching of melanin EPR lines was obtained for melanin and paramagnetic Cu²⁺ ion complexes. Slow spin-lattice relaxation processes are characteristic for the free radicals in melanin samples and fast spin-lattice relaxation was observed for Cu²⁺ ions. The EPR lines of copper ions saturate at higher microwave powers than the EPR lines of melanin.     

Longitudinal muon spin relaxation in muonium-like systems

Nuclear spin-lattice relaxation in paramagnetic systems is treated using the classic expression for transition probability between the coupled electron and nuclear spin states. The rate equations governing the incoherent occupancies of these states are solved analytically (where possible) and numerically (where not) to construct the relaxation function for the nuclear spin. The method is illustrated for muonium, and the muonium-substituted molecular radicals, for the case of perturbation due to fluctuation of the local field,i.e. modulation of the interaction with a third spin. A slight departure from single exponential behaviour is demonstrated for slow fluctuations.     

Manifestation of liquid-state and solid-state properties in electron relaxation of paramagnetic ions in solutions: Non-Markovian processes

The linewidth δH and the spin-spin relaxation time T ₂ for Gd³⁺, Mn²⁺, and Cr³⁺ ions in aqueous, water-glycerol, and water-poly(ethylene glycol) solutions at paramagnetic ion concentrations providing the dipole-dipole mechanism of spin relaxation are measured using two independent methods, namely, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and nonresonance paramagnetic absorption in parallel fields. Analysis of the experimental results indicates a gradual crossover from pure liquid-state (diffusion) to quasi-solid-state (rigid lattice) spin relaxation. It is demonstrated that the limiting cases are adequately described by standard, universally accepted formulas for dipole-dipole interactions in the liquid-state (the correlation time of translational motion satisfies the condition τ _c ?τ₂) and solid-state (τ _c ?τ₂) approximations. A complete theoretical treatment of the experimental dependences (including the observed gradual crossover of spin relaxation) is performed in the framework of the non-Markovian theory of spin relaxation in disordered media, which is proposed by one of the authors. Within this approach, the collective memory effects for spin and molecular (lattice) variables are taken into account using the first-order and second-order memory functions for spin-spin and spin-lattice interactions. A correlation between the spin magnitude and the temperature-viscosity conditions corresponding to the crossover to non-Markovian relaxation is revealed, and the situations in which structural transformations occurring in the solutions favor the crossover to solid-state spin relaxation are analyzed.     

EPR Free Induction Decay Coherence Observed after a Single Pulse in Saturation Recovery Experiments for Samples with Resolved Multiline CW Spectra

An electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spin-coherence signal has been observed following a single pulse for rapidly tumbling radicals with well-resolved nuclear hyperfine splitting in fluid solution when B ₁ is large enough to excite multiple hyperfine lines. This signal, which has the shape of a spin echo, arises from constructive interference of overlapping free induction decays (FIDs) from the hyperfine lines. It has been observed for 2,6-di-t-butyl-1,4-benzosemiquinone, 2,5-di-t-butyl-1,4-benzosemiquinone, 2,3,5,6-tetramethoxy-1,4-benzosemiquinone, 2,4,6-tri-t-butylphenoxyl radical, and 3-carbamoyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-3-pyrrolin-1-yloxy. It occurs at a time after the pulse that is equal to the inverse of the nuclear hyperfine splitting, independent of EPR resonance frequency from 250 MHz to 9.1 GHz. As the length of the pulse is increased, separate coherence signals can be observed that correspond to the beginning and end of the pulse. This coherence is distinct from the "single-pulse echo" signals discussed in the literature. For 2,6-di-t-butyl-1,4-benzosemiquinone, which has two resolved couplings (1.24 and 0.052 G), FID oscillations with a period that corresponds to the larger hyperfine coupling are observed on the coherence signal that arises from the smaller hyperfine coupling. If phase cycling is not perfect, the coherence signal can interfere with measurements of T ₁ by saturation recovery. Authors' address: Gareth R. Eaton, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208, USA