Proton dynamics in letovicite, (NH4)3H(SO4)2: a 1H and 14N NMR spectroscopic study

The improper ferroelastic phase letovicite (NH₄)₃H(SO₄)₂ has been studied by ¹H MAS NMR as well as by static ¹⁴N NMR experiments in the temperature range of 296–425 K. The ¹H MAS NMR resonance from ammonium protons can be well distinguished from that of acidic protons. A third resonance appears just below the phase transition temperature which is due to the acidic protons in the paraelastic phase. The lowering of the second moment M₂ for the ammonium protons takes place in the same temperature range as the formation of domain boundaries, while the signals of the acidic protons suffer a line narrowing in the area of T_c. The static ¹⁴N NMR spectra confirm the temperature of the motional changes of the ammonium tetrahedra. Two-dimensional ¹H NOESY spectra indicate a chemical exchange between ammonium protons and the acidic protons of the paraphase.     

Potassium tetracyanoplatinate (II) trihydrate (K2Pt(CN)4·3H2O) studied by high resolution solid state C MAS NMR

Prudent analysis of the solid state ¹³C MAS NMR spectra of polycrystalline K₂Pt(CN)₄ · 3H₂O (KTCP)⁻ reveals that in crystals of this compound there are two types of carbon nuclei with slightly different ¹³C chemical shift tensors, contrary to what is found for the solution NMR spectrum and previous static powder NMR studies on this compound and the high resolution solid state NMR studies on other similar compounds. The ¹³C MAS spectra measured at different rotor spinning speeds are satisfactorily simulated though the use of a newly developed computer program based on a novel density matrix formulation. The present method is eminently successful even though the spectra are rather complicated because of (1) the relatively large anisotropies of the chemical shift tensors; (2) the high-order dipolar interactions between ¹³C and ¹⁴N nuclei because of the strong quadrupolar coupling constants of ¹⁴N nuclei; and (3) the indirect J-coupling between the ¹³C and ¹⁹⁵Pt. The principal elements as well as their orientations of the two ¹³C chemical shift tensors are evaluated from the spectral simulations.     

NMR study of solid C60(γ-cyclodextrin)2

A solid complex of C₆₀ with γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CyD) was examined with NMR spectroscopic methods in order to understand the dynamics of C₆₀, and the interaction between C₆₀ and γ-CyD. A ¹³C solid-state cross-polarization magic angle spinning (CP/MAS) NMR spectra shows C₆₀ resonance at 142.6 ppm. This provides the evidence of interaction between ¹³C spins in C₆₀ and ¹H spins in the γ-CyD host. Ambient temperature experiments on the ¹³C CP/MAS NMR, with varying contact time, shows that the water associated with γ-CyDs plays an important role in the nuclear relaxation processes. The dynamics of C₆₀ in γ-CyD was investigated using temperature and field-dependent ¹³C spin-lattice relaxation time measurements. The influence of water on the dynamics of C₆₀ was less significant below 250 K.     

From crystalline to glassy gallium fluoride materials: an NMR study of Ga and Ga quadrupolar nuclei

Owing to the implementation of acquisition techniques specific for nuclei with very large quadrupolar interaction (full shifted echo and variable offset cumulative spectra (VOCS)), NMR spectra of ⁶⁹Ga and ⁷¹Ga are obtained in crystallised (PbGaF₅, Pb₃Ga₂F₁₂, Pb₉Ga₂F₂₄ and CsZnGaF₆) and glassy (PbF₂–ZnF₂–GaF₃) gallium fluorides. Simulations of both static (full echo or VOCS) and 15 kHz MAS spectra allow to obtain consistent determinations of isotropic chemical shifts and very large quadrupolar parameters (ν_Q up to 14 MHz). In the crystalline compounds whose structures are unknown, the number and the local symmetry of the different gallium sites are tentatively worked out. For the glassy systems, a continuous Czjzek's distribution of the NMR quadrupolar parameters accounts for the particular shape of the NMR spectrum.     

Green and red up-conversion emissions of Er–Yb Co-doped TiO2 nanocrystals prepared by sol–gel method

In this paper, green and red up-conversion emissions of Er³⁺–Yb³⁺ co-doped TiO₂ nanocrystals were reported. The phase structure, particle size and optical properties of Er³⁺–Yb³⁺ co-doped TiO₂ nanocrystals samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–vis–NIR absorption spectra and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. Green and red up-conversion emissions in the range of 520–570 nm (²H_11/2, ⁴S_3/2→⁴I_15/2) and 640–690 nm (⁴F_9/2→⁴I_15/2) were observed for the Er³⁺–Yb³⁺ co-doped TiO₂ nanocrystals. The visible up-conversion mechanism and temperature dependence of up-conversion emission for Er³⁺ in TiO₂ nanocrystals were discussed in detail.     

Kinetics of H→P cross-polarization in human trabecular bone

Bloch-decay and cross-polarization (CP) ³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of healthy human trabecular bone were acquired under magic-angle spinning (MAS) at 3 kHz. A single peak at 3.1 ppm was detected. Variable-contact time ¹H → ³¹P CP experiments revealed three signal components growing at various rates. The fast, moderate and slow components were assigned and assessed in P atom % to proton-rich (24%), hydroxyapatite (58%) and proton-deficient (18%) phosphate domains, respectively. Examination of CP kinetics is useful for the chemical characterization of bone tissue.     

F/Si distance determination in fluoride-containing octadecasil by Hartmann–Hahn cross-polarization under fast magic-angle spinning

¹⁹F/²⁹Si Hartmann–Hahn continuous wave cross-polarization (CP) has been applied under fast magic-angle spinning (MAS) to a powder sample of octadecasil. Strong oscillations occur during CP on a sideband matching condition between the isolated ²⁹Si–¹⁹F spin pairs formed by the silicons in the D4R units and the fluoride anions. The magnitude of the dipolar coupling constant was deduced directly from the line-splitting between the intense singularities of the Pake-like patterns obtained by Fourier transformation of the oscillatory polarization transfer. The corresponding Si–F internuclear distance, r=2.62±0.05 Å, is found to be in very good agreement with the X-ray crystal structure and the value of 2.69±0.04 Å recently reported from rotational echo double resonance (REDOR) and transferred echo double resonance (TEDOR) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. Furthermore, the CP technique is still reliable under fast MAS where both REDOR and TEDOR sequences suffer from severe artefacts due to finite pulse lengths. In octadecasil, a spinning frequency of 14 kHz is shown to be necessary for an effective suppression of ¹⁹F–¹⁹F spin diffusion. The influences of experimental missettings and radiofrequency (RF) field inhomogeneity are taken into account.     

Assessing the quantitative reliability of solid-state 13C NMR spectra of kerogens across a gradient of thermal maturity

Five type II kerogens, shown by elemental analysis and Rock-Eval pyrolysis to represent a gradient of thermal maturity, were further characterized using a range of solid-state ¹³C NMR spectroscopic techniques. ¹³C cross polarization (CP) NMR spectra of the kerogens confirmed the well-established pattern of increasing aromaticity with increasing thermal maturity. Spin counting showed that CP observability was around 50% for the immature kerogens, and only 14–25% for the mature kerogens. Spin counting also showed that the direct polarization (DP) observabilities were >80% for all but one of the kerogens. Despite the large differences in observability between the two techniques, aromaticities derived from corresponding CP and DP spectra differed by only 1–15%. The RESTORE technique showed that the low CP observability of the immature kerogens was due mostly to rapid T_1ρH relaxation, whereas both rapid T_1ρH relaxation and slow polarization transfer contributed to the low CP observability of the mature kerogens.     

Solid-state 17O NMR study of the electric-field-gradient and chemical shielding tensors in polycrystalline gamma-glycine

We report the first experimental determination of the carboxylate oxygen electric-field-gradient (EFG) and chemical shielding (CS) tensors in polycrystalline γ-glycine. Analysis of magic-angle spinning (MAS) and stationary ¹⁷O NMR spectra of [¹⁷O]-γ-glycine obtained at 9.4, 14.1, 16.4, and 18.8 T yields the magnitudes of the ¹⁷O EFG and CS tensors and the relative orientations between the two tensors. Extensive quantum chemical calculations at both the restricted Hartree–Fock and density functional levels have been performed to present the absolute tensor orientations in term of the molecular frame. We have demonstrated that ¹⁷O NMR tensor information could be unambiguously derived by the multiple field analyses of stationary ¹⁷O NMR spectra.     

Si CP/MAS NMR of phosphorus-bearing organosilicon compounds

While liquid-state ²⁹Si NMR of phosphorus-bearing organosilicon compounds with more than one phosphorus per molecule can take advantage of the presence of J-coupling ⁿJ(³¹P²⁹Si) for purposes of structural assignment from J-coupling patterns, conventional ²⁹Si CP/MAS spectra of such molecular solids do not reveal structural details in a straightforward manner. For such compounds it is necessary to obtain ²⁹Si CP/MAS spectra under conditions of simultaneous ¹H- and ³¹P-high power decoupling in order to derive reliable ²⁹Si chemical shift information. ²⁹Si CP/MAS NMR spectra, obtained with and without ³¹P high power decoupling during the acquisition time, of several organosilicon compounds containing Si_xP_y (x = 1 −10, y = 1 −10) moieties are reported.     

Solid-state NMR and 2,3-dicyano-5,7-dimethyl-6H-1,4-diazepine

Crystalline 2,3-dicyano-5,7-dimethyl-6H-1,4-diazepine (A) was investigated by solid-state NMR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and spectral simulations. The solid-state ¹³C NMR spectra of A display peculiar splittings for the methyl and cyano resonances. The crystal structure of A indicates that the methyl doublet is a consequence of two crystallographically inequivalent environments. The methyl motions associated with each site was examined via spin-lattice relaxation time (T₁) measurements, and the carbon relaxation times (T₁^C) were used to calculate energy barriers to methyl rotation. The energy barriers to rotation were then used to correlate each methyl ¹³C shift with a particular crystallographic environment. The complex cyano splittings, however, are a result of both crystallographic inequivalence and residual ¹³C–¹⁴N dipolar coupling. The multiplet patterns of the isotropic shifts (centerbands) are dependent upon the magic-angle spinning (MAS) rate. Spectral simulations, using the perturbation method, of the centerbands and first-order sidebands were used to demonstrate, and elucidate, the observed MAS rate-dependent multiplet patterns of the cyano signals.     

The 15N and 13C solid state NMR study of intramolecular hydrogen bond in some Schiff's bases

A series of 11 Schiff's bases derived from substituted salicylaldehyde and aliphatic amines has been studied in the solid state by ¹⁵N and ¹³C cross-polarization magic angle spinning (CPMAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). ¹⁵N CPMAS is especially useful for investigation of the tautomerism in the compounds considered, owing to the large difference in the nitrogen chemical shifts of OH and NH tautomers. In the solid state, three of the compounds examined were shown by ¹⁵N NMR to exist as OH tautomeric forms, and the remaining eight as the corresponding NH forms. This was confirmed by ¹³C CPMAS. The results reported were compared with those obtained in CDCl₃ solutions.     

P and N solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic study of some monophospha-λ-azenes

³¹P Cross-polarization magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (CP-MAS NMR) spectra of eight monophospha-λ⁵-azenes were measured at room temperature. Three of these compounds, with 2-OH substituents, are in principle capable of taking part in the equilibrium process. However, only the open form, tautomer A, is found in the present study. ¹⁵N CP-MAS NMR spectra support the results. The most shielded component of the ³¹P chemical shift tensor lies in the direction of the P=N bond.     

Dynamic H nuclear magnetic resonance of rotating solids

The sensitivity of one-dimensional dynamic magic-angle spinning (MAS) and off-MAS ²H nuclear magnetic resonance spectra to changes in the parameters of jump-type molecular motions is studied. The Floquet theory approach is used to simulate spectra of spins with I = 1, which are involved in exchange processes in rotating solids. The solution of the Bloch-McConnell equations for rotating samples are derived and some simulated frequency spectra are shown. The dependence of the lineshapes of the center and sidebands of the MAS and off-MAS spectra on the exchange parameters are discussed. Experimental results of ²H spectra of perdeuterated dimethyl sulfone, obtained in the temperature range 20–55 °C, are demonstrated. The methyl groups in this molecule undergo π flips at rates that can be detected by MAS and off-MAS NMR. The shapes of the experimental sidebands are compared with simulated results.     

Dynamic properties of P4O6S and P4O7:31P spin-echo and 31P MAS-NMR investigations.

The rotational dynamics of P₄O₆S and P₄O₇ in the solid state were studied by means of ³¹P NMR spectra of spinning and static powder samples in the temperature range of 153–295 K and 295–388 K, respectively. All spectra were simulated to confirm the type of the motion and to extract the time scales as a function of the temperature. Good agreement between experimental and theoretical data was obtained on the basis of a three-site jump model. For P₄O₆S, the activation energy and the pre-exponential factor derived from the lineshape simulations amount to 51(2) kJ/mol and 6(3)·10¹⁵ s⁻¹. For P₄O₇, the spectral analysis yields an activation energy of 67(1) kJ/mol and a pre-exponential factor of 6(2)·10¹⁴ s⁻¹. The dynamic behavior was checked independently by lineshape analyses under both MAS and static conditions. Activation energies are consistent within the errors for the lineshape analyses. Additionally, we have analyzed spin–lattice relaxation measurements, which show the correct trends for the activation energies.     

27Al NMR study in ZrNiAl

We have studied the microscopic properties of the hexagonal ZrNiAl, a model compound for a wide family of intermetallic compounds crystallizing in this type of structure, by using ²⁷Al NMR spectroscopy. We have investigated the lineshape of static and MAS NMR spectra as a function of magnetic field strength (4.7–9.4 T) and temperature (5–300 K). Our data indicate that the ²⁷Al NMR spectra result from a combined effect of quadrupole and anisotropic shift interactions. The ²⁷Al nuclei are in an environment characterized by the quadrupole coupling constant e²qQ/h of 3.3 MHz, asymmetry parameter η_Q of 0.42, isotropic shift δ_iso of 393 ppm, shift anisotropy δ_anis = δ_zz − (δ_xx + δ_yy)/2 of 150 ppm, and asymmetry factor η_S of 0.5. They are found to be temperature independent. The spin–lattice relaxation rate measured at 7.05 T is proportional to the temperature with T₁T = 135 s K. The mechanisms responsible for observed values of δ_iso, δ_anis, T₁T, and the enhanced Korringa constant are discussed.     

H, V and N nuclear magnetic resonance studies of structure and properties of vanadia supported on TiOx/SiO2

¹H magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) spectra of TiO_x/SiO₂ catalysts suggest the interaction of surface TiO_x. species with Si-OH groups of the silica. Simultaneously, Ti-OH groups from surface titania species appear. The distribution of TiO_x species over SiO₂ is non-uniform, since a considerable part of surface OH groups remains unreacted with supported titania. Supported vanadia species interact both with Si-OH and Ti-OH groups. ⁵¹V NMR spectra suggest the interaction of vanadia with supported titania species and show the non-uniform distribution of titania over the SiO₂ surface. Deposition of titania as well as vanadia produces strong electron-accepting (Lewis) sites which interact with the terminal N atom of adsorbed N₂O molecules, resulting in a downfield shift of the resonance in ¹⁵N NMR spectra. The acid strength of electron-accepting sites is similar in both cases. Only about 10% of the total amount of supported titania and vanadia create Lewis sites.     

Effect of WO3 on the spectroscopic properties in Er/Yb co-doped bismuth–borate glasses

The spectroscopic properties of Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ co-doped Bi₂O₃–B₂O₃–WO₃ (BBW) glasses were analyzed and discussed. The effect of WO₃ content on the absorption spectra, the Judd–Ofelt parameters Ω_t (t=2, 4, 6), emission spectra and the lifetime of the ⁴I_13/2 level and the quantum efficiency of Er³⁺:⁴I_13/2→⁴I_15/2 transition were also investigated. With the substitution of WO₃ for B₂O₃, the measured lifetime of the ⁴I_13/2 level and the quantum efficiency of Er³⁺:⁴I_13/2→⁴I_15/2 transition increase from 0.98 to 1.31 ms and from 38.2% to 49.2%, respectively. The effective width of emission band and the emission cross-section both decrease slightly. And the emission spectra is analyzed via the different curve (σ_e−σ_a) of BBW glasses, the influence of OH⁻is also discussed.     

Characterization of polyalkylvinyl ether phases by solid-state and suspended-state nuclear magnetic resonance investigations

Pure organic polyalkylvinyl ether phases were synthesized by suspension polymerization using different ratios and compositions of n-butylvinyl ether (C₄VE) and n-octadecylvinyl ether (C₁₈VE) with triethylene glycol divinyl ether or divinylbenzene as crosslinkers, respectively. These phases were investigated by means of solid-state ¹³C cross-polarization magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and ¹H high-resolution magic angle spinning (HR MAS) NMR spectroscopy in suspended-state. A comparison of these two methods showed the substantial advantages of ¹H HR MAS NMR measurements. Structure elucidation was achieved using a 2D H,H-COSY NMR experiment performed under MAS conditions enabling full peak assignment of the ¹H NMR spectra of these phases. The dynamic behavior of the polyalkylvinyl ether phases was determined by employing temperature-dependent measurements of spin–lattice relaxation times (T₁) as well as accumulation of a 2D wide line separation NMR spectrum.     

Multiple-quantum magic-angle spinning NMR with cross-polarization: Spectral editing of high-resolution spectra of quadrupolar nuclei

An experiment is presented that combines the multiple-quantum magic-angle spinning (MQMAS) technique with cross-polarization (CP). As a preliminary test of this new method, we measured and compared the ²⁷Al 3QMAS and ¹⁹F → ²⁷A1 CP 3QMAS spectra of a fluorinated AlPO₄ aluminophosphate. Complete discrimination between the fluorinated and nonfluorinated Al sites was easily achieved, which demonstrates the usefulness of CP MQMAS for spectral editing. Future applications of this experiment will include other spin pairs and heteronuclear correlation NMR spectroscopy.