Local structure in perovskite relaxor ferroelectrics: high-resolution Nb 3QMAS NMR

Solid solutions of (1'-x)Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O3xPb(Sc(1/2)Nb(1/2))O3 (PMN/PSN) have been investigated using high-resolution 93Nb 3-quantum magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance experiments (3QMAS NMR). In previous MAS NMR investigations, the local B-cation ordering in these relaxor ferroelectric solid solutions was quantitatively determined. However, in conventional one-dimensional MAS spectra the effects of chemical shifts and quadrupole interaction are convoluted; this, in addition to the insufficient resolution, precludes reliable extraction of the values of isotropic chemical shift and quadrupole coupling product. In the current 3QMAS investigation, 93Nb spectra are presented for concentrations x=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.6, 0.7, and 0.9 at high magnetic field (19.6 T) and fast sample spinning speed (35.7 kHz). Seven narrow peaks and two broad components are observed. The unique high-resolution of the two-dimensional 3QMAS spectra enables unambiguous and consistent assignments of spectral intensities to the specific 28 nearest B-site neighbor (nBn) configurations, (NMg, NSc, NNb) where each number ranges from 0 to 6 and their sum is 6. It is now possible to isolate the isotropic chemical shift and quadrupole coupling product and separately determine their values for most of the 28 nBn configurations. The isotropic chemical shift depends linearly on the number of Mg2+ cations in the configuration; delta iso CS=(13.7 +/- 0.1)NMg-970 +/- 0.4 ppm, regardless of the ratio NSc/NNb. For the seven Nb5+-deficient configurations (NMg, 6-NMg, 0) and the pure niobium configuration (0, 0, 6), the quadrupole coupling products (and hence the electric field gradients) are small (PQ approximately 6-12 MHz) and for the remaining configurations containing small, ferroelectric active Nb5+ ions, the quadrupole coupling products are significantly larger (PQ approximately 40 MHz), indicating larger electric field gradients.     

93Nb NMR chemical shift scale for niobia systems

⁹³Nb solid-state NMR spectra of a series of inorganic niobates with Nb in different oxygen coordination environments were measured. For all studied compounds the chemical shielding and quadrupole tensor parameters were determined using conventional and ultrahigh field NMR facilities, ultrahigh speed MAS, DQ STMAS, solid-echo and computer modeling. It has been demonstrated that the ⁹³Nb isotropic chemical shift is sensitive to the coordination number of Nb sites. For the first time the ⁹³Nb NMR chemical shift scale for NbO_x polyhedra in solid materials has been proposed: for four-coordinated Nb sites, the isotropic shifts occur from −650 to −950 ppm; five-coordinated Nb sites have the isotropic shifts in the range of –900 to –980 ppm; for six-coordinated Nb sites the isotropic shifts vary from −900 to −1360 ppm; the shifts from −1200 to −1600 ppm are typical for seven-coordinated Nb sites; for eight-coordinated Nb sites the shifts are higher than −1400 ppm. The possible correlation between the value of the isotropic chemical shift and the ionic character of the NbO_x–MO_y polyhedra association has been suggested. The magnitude of the ⁹³Nb quadrupole coupling constant depends on the local symmetry of Nb sites and may vary from hundreds of kHz to hundreds of MHz.     

59Co chemical shift anisotropy and quadrupole coupling for K3Co(CN)6 from MQMAS and MAS NMR spectroscopy

59Co triple-quantum (3Q) MAS and single-pulse MAS NMR spectra of K3Co(CN)6 have been obtained at 14.1 T and used in a comparison of these methods for determination of small chemical shift anisotropies for spin I = 7/2 nuclei. From the 3QMAS NMR spectrum a spinning sideband manifold in the isotropic dimension with high resolution is reconstructed from the intensities of all spinning sidebands in the 3QMAS spectrum. The chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) parameters determined from this spectrum are compared with those obtained from MAS NMR spectra of (i) the complete manifold of spinning sidebands for the central and satellite transitions and of (ii) the second-order quadrupolar lineshapes for the centerband and spinning sidebands from the central transition. A good agreement between the three data sets, all of high precision, is obtained for the shift anisotropy (delta(sigma) = delta(iso) - delta(zz)) whereas minor deviations are observed for the CSA asymmetry parameter (eta(sigma)). The temperature dependence of the isotropic 59Co chemical shift has been studied over a temperature range from -28 to +76 degrees C. A linear and positive temperature dependence of 0.97 ppm/degree C is observed.     

Filtering of spinning sidebands in 1D MAS NMR spectra

Spinning sidebands (SSBs) in the MAS NMR spectrum of a polycrystalline solid are related to the principal values of the chemical shift or quadrupole coupling tensors. At present, 2D methods are widely used to sort out the SSBs for each isotropic peak. Here a simple and efficient method for separating the SSBs in 1D MAS NMR spectra is described. It is based on finding the optimal spinning rate with a mathematical algorithm and subsequently treating the spectra with filtering functions.     

A multiple-field (23)Na NMR study of sodium species in porous carbons

The sodium environments in porous carbon materials prepared from NaOH activation of a char were investigated by means of multiple-field solid-state ²³Na NMR measurements, carried out at magnetic fields of 4.7, 8.45 and 14.1 T, with single-pulse excitation and magic angle spinning (MAS). The recorded spectra showed a relatively featureless resonance with linewidth and peak shift strongly dependent on the magnetic field strength and on the hydration level of the samples. The existence of second-order quadrupolar effects was inferred, although the structural disorder and the mobile character associated with the Na environment precluded the direct observation of typical quadrupolar features in the MAS NMR spectra. The analysis of the spectra collected at multiple magnetic fields yielded the values of −2.8 ppm for the isotropic chemical shift and 1.8 MHz for the quadrupole coupling constant, which were interpreted as due to Na⁺ ions bonded to oxygenated groups at the edges of the graphene planes within the carbon pore network.     

Niobium-93 MQMAS NMR spectroscopic study of alkali and lead niobates.

93Nb (I = 9/2) multiple-quantum magic-angle spinning (MQMAS) NMR spectra of a series of inorganic niobates have been measured. 93Nb MQMAS spectroscopy yields spectra with typically an order of magnitude higher resolution than that obtainable with 93Nb MAS spectroscopy and 93Nb dynamic-angle spinning (DAS) spectroscopy. For example, the full-width at half-maximums of the 93Nb resonances of LiNbO3 were 9 (MAS), 5.8 (DAS), and 0.7 kHz (MQMAS). Broadening of the 93Nb MAS and DAS spectra is due to the second-order quadrupolar and homonuclear dipolar interactions, respectively. The quadrupolar products (P(O)) and isotropic chemical shifts (delta(iso)) of the 93Nb resonances of LiNbO3, NaNbO3, PbNb2O6, Pb2Nb2O7, Pb3Nb2O8, Pb3Nb4O15, Pb3Nb4O13, and Pb1.83Nb1.71Mg0.29O6.39 were determined from MQMAS spectra and range from 13.6 to 26.8 MHz and from -951 to -1113 ppm, respectively. Resonances with relatively large quadrupolar coupling constants (> 30 MHz) were not observed using MQMAS spectroscopy, but were detected using nutation spectroscopy. The applicability and limitations of MQMAS spectroscopy in studying inorganic niobates containing multiple 93Nb resonances are addressed and compared with those of MAS, nutation, and DAS spectroscopies.     

Unusual observation of nitrogen chemical shift anisotropies in tetraalkylammonium halides by 14N MAS NMR spectroscopy

¹⁴N Magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectra for a number of polycrystalline, symmetrical tetraalkylammonium halides with short alkyl chains (C₂H₅– to n-C₄H₉–) have been recorded following a careful setup of the experimental conditions. Analysis of the spectra demonstrates the presence of ¹⁴N chemical shift anisotropies (CSAs) on the order of |δ_σ|=10–30 ppm along with ¹⁴N quadrupole coupling constants in the range of 10–70 kHz. The magnitude and sign of the CSAs determined from ¹⁴N MAS NMR are confirmed by recording and analysis of the corresponding slow-speed spinning (500–650 Hz) ¹⁵N CP/MAS NMR spectra. Most interestingly, it is observed experimentally and demonstrated theoretically and by simulations, that these CSAs are reflected in the spinning sideband (ssb) intensities of the ¹⁴N MAS spectra at much higher spinning speeds than can be applied to retrieve the corresponding ¹⁵N CSAs from the ssb pattern in the ¹⁵N CP/MAS spectra.     

A solid-state N magic-angle spinning NMR study of some amino acids

Experimental strategies for the acquisition of high-quality 14N magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectra of the simple amino acids, which exhibit 14N quadrupole coupling constants (C(Q)) on the order of 1.2 MHz, are devised. These are the first useful 14N MAS spectra reported for nitrogen compounds having a C(Q)(14N) value in excess of 1 MHz. The complete manifolds of spinning sidebands (ssbs), i.e., about 300 ssbs for a spinning frequency of 6.0 kHz, have been observed in the 14N MAS NMR spectra of a series of amino acids. In their crystal structure these amino acids all exhibit the zwitterionic form and thus the 14N MAS NMR spectra represent those of a rotating -NH(3)(+) group and not of an amino (-NH(2)) group. Computer simulations combined with fitting of simulated to the experimental ssb intensities result in the determination of precise values for the 14N quadrupole coupling (C(Q)) and its associated asymmetry parameter (eta(Q)) for the nitrogen sites in these molecules. For some of the amino acids the 14N MAS NMR spectra exhibit overlap between the manifolds of ssbs from two different nitrogen sites in accordance with their crystal structures. Computer analysis of these spectra results in two different sets of (C(Q), eta(Q)) values which mainly differ in the magnitudes for eta(Q).     

17O NMR studies of low silicate zeolites

Multiple-quantum magic-angle spinning and double-rotation NMR techniques were applied in the high field of 17.6 T to the study of oxygen-17-enriched zeolites A and LSX with the ratio Si/Al = 1. A monotonic correlation between the isotropic value of the chemical shift and the Si-O-Al bond angle alpha (taken from X-ray data) could be found. Hydration of the zeolites causes a downfield 17O NMR chemical shift of about 8 ppm with respect to the dehydrated zeolites. Ion exchange of the hydrated zeolites generates stronger chemical shift effects. The increase of the basicity of the oxygen framework of the zeolite LSX is reflected by a downfield shift of approx. 10 ppm going from the lithium to the cesium form, and the substitution of sodium by thallium in the zeolite A causes a shift of 34 ppm for the O3 signal. 17O DOR NMR spectra are superior to 17O 3QMAS NMR spectra, featuring a resolution increase by a factor of 2 and are about equal with respect to the sensitivity. The residual linewidths of the signals in the 17O DOR and 17O 5QMAS NMR spectra can be explained by a distribution of the Si-O-Al angles in the zeolites.     

2H chemical shift anisotropies from high-field 2H MAS NMR spectroscopy

2H chemical shift anisotropies (CSAs) have been determined for the first time for polycrystalline samples employing 2H MAS NMR spectroscopy at high magnetic field strength (14.1 T). The 2H CSA is reflected as distinct asymmetries in the manifold of spinning sidebands (ssbs) observed for the two overlapping single-quantum transitions. Least-squares fitting to the manifold of ssbs allows determination of the 2H CSA parameters along with the quadrupole coupling parameters. This is demonstrated for KD2PO4, ND4D2PO4, KDSO4, KDCO3, alpha-(COOD)2, alpha-(COOD)2.2D2O, and boehmite (AlOOD) which exhibit 2H shift anisotropies in the range 13< or =deltasigma< or =27 ppm. For fixed values of the shift anisotropy and the 2H quadrupole coupling it is shown that the precision of the CSA parameters depends strongly on the asymmetry parameter (etaQ) for the quadrupole coupling tensor, giving the highest precision for etaQ approximately 0. The 2H CSA parameters (deltasigma and etasigma) are in good agreement with 1H CSA data reported in the literature for the corresponding protonated samples from 1H NMR spectra employing various homonuclear decoupling techniques. The determination of 2H quadrupole coupling parameters and 2H (1H) CSAs from the same 2H MAS NMR experiment may be particularly useful in studies of hydrogen bonding since the 2H quadrupole coupling constant and the CSA appear to characterize bond lengths in a hydrogen bond in a different manner.     

A practical comparison of MQMAS techniques

A systematic experimental evaluation of several approaches to multiple-quantum MAS NMR was performed for spin-5/2 nuclei using (27)Al NMR of the aluminosilicate andalusite and the porous aluminum phosphate AlPO(4)-14 as model. Experiments were conducted in the fields of 9.4 and 17.6T using magic-angle spinning frequencies up to 30kHz and rf-field strengths of 250 and 120kHz. Numerical SIMPSON optimizations of the NMR parameters were performed alongside the experimental evaluations. Both theory and experiment show that the optimization is most critical for the species in the sample that have the largest quadrupolar coupling constant. For 5QMAS experiments it could be confirmed that the highest available rf-field strength and rotation frequency are favorable for the efficiency of the experiments. For 3QMAS experiments of sites with moderate quadrupolar coupling constants optimum results were obtained at less stringent conditions. The comparison of a FAM II-modification and DFS gave the expected improvement by a factor of about two with respect to a rectangular pulse. No significant difference between these techniques concerning the signal-to-noise ratios was obtained. An actual improvement of the isotropic resolution by a factor of about two was obtained going from 3QMAS to 5QMAS. In addition the resolution of the spectra increases by a factor of about two going from 9.4 to 17.6T.     

27Al and 23Na double-rotation NMR of sodalites.

The 27Al NMR spectra of calcium tungstate aluminate sodalite (CAW), Ca8[Al12O24](WO4)2, and the 23Na NMR spectra of sodium aluminosilicate sodalites of general composition Na9[Si6Al6O24]A2 with A = B(OH)4- (SBS), SCN- (SRS) and A2 = SO4(2-) (SSS), MoO4(2-) (SMS) have been measured using magic-angle spinning (MAS) and double-rotation (DOR) techniques. Rotor synchronized pulse excitation is applied in the DOR experiments. Dramatic line narrowing is observed in the DOR spectra of all samples. The 27Al DOR NMR spectra of CAW measured at 9.4 and 11.7 T and spinning rates of 800-1150 Hz of the outer and 5 kHz of the inner rotor show seven sharp central lines accompanied by a manifold of spinning sidebands. These lines correspond to the seven crystallographically inequivalent Al sites of the CAW framework derived from X-ray structure analysis. From the difference of the line positions in the 9.4 and 11.7 T spectra the quadrupole coupling constant, QCC, quadrupole induced shift, sigma qs, and isotropic chemical shift, delta cs, of each Al site have been calculated. QCC values in the range of 5 to 9 MHz are obtained which reflect the strong tetragonal distortion of the AlO4 tetrahedra in CAW. delta cs shows only small changes in the range between 74.4 and 77.2 ppm. A tentative assignment of all lines to the distinct Al sites is derived from the correlation between QCC and a "shear strain parameter" describing quantitatively the distortion of the AlO4 tetrahedra.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Oxygen sites in the zeolite stilbite: a comparison of static, MAS, VAS, DAS and triple quantum MAS NMR techniques

Static, magic angle spinning (MAS), variable angle spinning (VAS), dynamic angle spinning (DAS) and triple quantum magic angle spinning (3QMAS) NMR techniques were applied to separate and quantify oxygen signals from Al–O–Si and Si–O–Si sites of ¹⁷O-enriched samples of the mineral stilbite, a natural zeolite. DAS experiments showed that there was a distribution of quadrupolar coupling constants, asymmetry parameters and isotropic chemical shifts. Two methods were used to study the quantification problem of DAS and 3QMAS. Our results showed that DAS was quantitative. In 3QMAS, signal intensity from sites with larger quadrupolar coupling constants was reduced because of less efficient excitation. All techniques have shown a clear difference in rates of exchange between the two types of sites with interchannel H₂O molecules.     

Both experimental and theoretical investigations of solid-state 17O NMR for L-valine and L-isoleucine

We have presented an experimental investigation of the carboxyl oxygen NMR parameters for four distinct sites in l-valine and l-isoleucine. The carboxyl (17)O quadrupolar coupling constant, C(Q), and isotropic chemical shift, delta(iso), for these compounds are obtained by analyzing two-dimensional (17)O multiple-quantum magic-angle spinning (MQMAS) and/or 1D MAS spectra. The values of C(Q) and delta(iso) found to be in the range of 7.00-7.85 MHz, and 264-314 ppm, respectively. Extensive quantum chemical calculations at the density functional levels have been performed for a full cluster of l-valine molecules and a few theoretical models. The calculated results indicated that there was a correlation between the (17)O NMR parameters and C-O bond lengths, which was helpful for the spectral assignment. They also demonstrated that the torsion angle of l-valine plays an important role in determining the magnitudes of (17)O NMR parameters.     

Effect of alkali-earth ions on the local structure of LaAlO3-La0.67A0.33MnO3 (A = Ca, Sr, Ba) diluted solid solutions: 27Al NMR studies

²⁷Al magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was studied for diluted alkali earth metal-doped lanthanum manganite solid solutions in the lanthanum aluminate (1 − y)LaAlO₃-yLa_0.67 A _0.33MnO₃ (A = Ca, Sr, Ba) with y =0, 2, 3, and 5 mol %. The spectra depended on the dopant species and showed higher substitutional ordering for the Ba-containing mixed crystals. Magnetically shifted lines were observed in all solid solutions and were attributed to Al in the octahedral oxygen environment near manganese trivalent ions. Nonlinear dependences of their intensity were referred to the manganese-rich cluster formation. An additional MAS NMR line corresponding to aluminum at sites different from the octahedral site in pure LaAlO₃ was observed only in solutions doped with Ba. 3Q MAS NMR revealed that the broadening of this line is governed mainly by quadrupole coupling and made it possible to calculate the isotropic chemical shift. The article was submitted by the authors in English.     

A Definitive Example of Aluminum-27 Chemical Shielding Anisotropy

Solid-state²⁷Al NMR spectra have been obtained for a crystalline 1:1 complex of AlCl₃and OPCl₃. Aluminum chloride phosphoryl chloride, AlCl₃· OPCl₃(1), is unusual in that the Al–O–P bond angle is close to 180°. From analysis of the²⁷Al MAS NMR spectra, it was determined that the²⁷Al nuclear quadrupole coupling constant is 6.0(1) MHz, the asymmetry in the electric field gradient (efg) tensor is 0.15(2), and the isotropic chemical shift, δ_iso(²⁷Al), is 88(1) ppm. Solid-state²⁷Al NMR of a stationary sample reveals a line shape affected by a combination of anisotropic chemical shielding and second-order quadrupolar interactions. Analysis of this spectrum yields a chemical shift anisotropy of 60(1) ppm and orientations of the chemical shift and electric field gradient tensors in the molecular frame. Experimental results are compared with those calculated usingab initioHartree–Fock and density functional theory.     

14N chemical shifts and quadrupole coupling constants of inorganic nitrates

The isotropic chemical shift and the nuclear quadrupole coupling constant for (14)N were obtained for 14 inorganic nitrates by solid-state MAS NMR measurements at two different field strengths, 9.4 and 11.7 T. The compounds studied were polycrystalline powders of AgNO(3), Al(NO(3))(3), Ba(NO(3))(2), Ca(NO(3))(2), CsNO(3), KNO(3), LiNO(3), Mg(NO(3))(2), NaNO(3), Pb(NO(3))(2), RbNO(3), Sr(NO(3))(2), Th(NO(3))(4)center dot4H(2)O, and UO(2)(NO(3))(2)center dot3H(2)O. Even though the spectra show broadening due to (14)N quadrupole interactions, linewidths of a few hundred hertz and a good signal-to-noise ratio were achieved. From the position of the central peaks at the two fields, the chemical shifts and the nuclear quadrupole coupling constants were calculated. The chemical shifts for all compounds studied range from 282 to 342 ppm with respect to NH(4)Cl. The nuclear quadrupole coupling constants range from 429 kHz for AgNO(3) to 993 kHz for LiNO(3). These data are compared with those available in the literature.     

Spin-locking mechanism of spin I = 3/2 quadrupolar nuclei undergo magic angle spinning

The spin-locking mechanism of the spin I=3/2 quadrupolar nuclei under magic angle spinning (MAS) has been theoretically and experimentally investigated, and the criterion of adiabatic passage around zero-crossings of the quadrupole splitting was inferred from the time-dependent Shrödinger equation in this article. The theory, numerical simulations, and experiments conducted in this work all indicated that second-order quadrupole interaction and off-resonance play important roles in the spin-locking of the quadrupolar nuclei, and they were responsible for the great loss of the spin-locking signals. The spin-locking for a spin I=3/2 nucleus might be achieved by minimizing the effect of the second-order quadrupole interaction by using a radio frequency (RF) offset. This offset was realized by setting the RF to the opposite position of the isotropic second-order quadrupolar shift of single quantum coherences.     

27Al multiple-quantum MAS NMR of mechanically treated bayerite (alpha-Al(OH)3) and silica mixtures

Two-dimensional 27Al multiple-quantum magic angle spinning (MQMAS) NMR experiments are used to study mixtures of bayerite (alpha-Al(OH)3) with either silicic acid (SiO2.nH2O) or silica gel (SiO2) that have been ground together for varying lengths of time. This mechanical treatment produces changes in the 27Al MAS and MQMAS NMR spectra that correspond to the formation of new Al species. Mean values of the quadrupolar interaction (PQ) and isotropic chemical shift (deltacs) are extracted from the two-dimensional 27Al NMR spectra for each of these species. The presence of significant distributions of both 27Al quadrupolar and chemical shift parameters is demonstrated and the effect of grinding duration on the magnitudes of these distributions is discussed.     

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy of paramagnetic metallocenes

The paramagnetic metallocenes and decamethylmetallocenes (C(5)H(5))(2)M and (C(5)Me(5))(2)M with M=V (S=3/2), Mn (S=5/2 or 1/2), Co (S=1/2), and Ni (S=1) were studied by (1)H and (13)C solid-state MAS NMR spectroscopy. Near room temperature spinning sideband manifolds cover ranges of up to 1100 and 3500 ppm, and isotropic signal shifts appear between -260 and 300 ppm and between -600 and 1640 ppm for (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra, respectively. The isotropic paramagnetic signal shifts, which are related to the spin densities in the s orbital of ligand atoms, were discussed. A Herzfeld--Berger spinning sideband analysis of the ring carbon signals yielded the principal values of the paramagnetic shift tensors, and for metallocenes with a small g-factor anisotropy the electron spin density in the ligand pi system was determined from the chemical shift anisotropy. The unusual features of the (1)H and (13)C solid-state NMR spectra of manganocene were related to its chain structure while temperature-dependent (1)H MAS NMR studies reflected antiferromagnetic interaction between the spin centers.