Isotope ratio of Cl NQR spin-lattice relaxation times in 1D hydrogen-bonding system of tetramethylpyrazine-chloranilic acid at high temperatures

The temperature dependences of spin-lattice relaxation time T ₁ of ³⁵Cl and ³⁷Cl NQR were studied for the co-crystal of tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) with chloranilic acid (H₂ca), TMP-H₂ca, in which one-dimensional hydrogen bonding is formed by alternate arrangement of TMP and H₂ca. The isotope ratio ³⁷Cl T ₁ / ³⁵Cl T ₁ was determined to be 1.0 ± 0.1 above ca. 290 K where a steep decrease of spin-lattice relaxation time T ₁ with increasing temperature was observed. In this temperature range it is suggested that the relaxation is originated from the slow fluctuation of electric field gradient (EFG). Beside EFG fluctuation due to the external-charge-density fluctuation, the small angle reorientation of the quantization axis triggered by a proton transfer motion between N...H-O and N-H...O hydrogen bonding states is proposed.