Layered metal(IV) phosphonate materials: Solid‐state 1H, 13C, 31P NMR spectra and NMR relaxation

Multinuclear solid‐state NMR and powder X‐ray diffraction data collected for phosphonate materials Zr(O₃PC₆H₄PO₃) · 3.6H₂O and Sn(O₃PC₆H₄PO₃)_0.85(O₃POH)_0.30 · 3.09H₂O have resulted in the layered structure, where the phosphonic acids cross‐link the layers. The main structural motif (the 111 connectivity in the PO₃ group) has been established by determination of chemical shift anisotropy parameters for phosphorus nuclei in the phosphonate groups. An analysis of the variable‐temperature ³¹P T₁ measurements and the shapes of the phosphorus resonances in the ³¹P static NMR spectra have resulted in the dipolar mechanism of the phosphorus spin‐lattice relaxation, where the rotating phenylene rings reorient dipolar vectors P^…H as a driving force of the relaxation process. It has been found that water protons do not affect the ³¹P T₁ times. The activation energy of the phenylene rotation in both compounds has been determined as low as 12.5 kJ/mol. The interpretation of the phosphorus relaxation data has been independently confirmed by the measurements of ¹H T₁ times for protons of the phenylene rings.