Analytical Instrument Documents

"NMR Spectroscopy for Probing Functional Dynamics at Biological Interfaces" has been published from Royal Society of Chemistry. A chapter is contributed by Yusuke Nishiyama of JEOL RESONANCE Inc.

This research demonstrates the effect of Li and Ni co-doping in P2-type layered materials and suggests a new strategy of using Mn-rich cathode materials.

This primer article introduces a practical guide for setting up 1H detection solid-state NMR experiments under fast MAS conditions for small molecules.

Magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments at ultra low temperature (ULT) ( 100 K) have demonstrated clear benefits for obtaining large signal sensitivity gain and probing spin dynamics phenomena at ULT. ULT NMR is furthermore a highly promising platform for solid-state dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP). However, ULT NMR is not widely used, given limited availability of such instrumentation from commercial sources. In this paper, we present a comprehensive study of hydrated [U-C]alanine, a standard bio-solid sample, from the first commercial 14.1 Tesla NMR spectrometer equipped with a closed-cycle helium ULT-MAS system. The closed-cycle helium MAS system provides precise temperature control from 25 K to 100 K and stable MAS from 1.5 kHz to 12 kHz. The C CP-MAS NMR of [U-C]alanine showed 400% signal gain at 28 K compared with at 100 K. The large sensitivity gain results from the Boltzmann factor, radio frequency circuitry quality factor improvement, and the suppression of its methyl group rotation at ULT. We further observed that the addition of organic biradicals widely used for solid-state DNP significantly shortens the H T1 spin lattice relaxation time at ULT, without further broadening the C spectral linewidth compared to at 90 K. The mechanism of H T1 shortening is dominated by the two-electron-one-nucleus triple flip transition underlying the Cross Effect mechanism, widely relied upon to drive solid-state DNP. Our experimental observations suggest that the prospects of MAS NMR and DNP under ULT conditions established with a closed-cycle helium MAS system are bright.

High-capacity Li1+x(Ni0.3Mn0.7)1-xO2, (0 < x < 1/3) samples were synthesized by the coprecipitation–calcination method. Both electrochemical cycle and high-rate performances were drastically improved by selecting an N2 atmosphere as final calcination. Scanning transmission electron microscopy—energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis showed that the sample calcined in an N2 atmosphere had a more homogeneous transition metal distribution into primary particles than that calcined in air. The solid-state 7Li nuclear magnetic resonance data showed that electrochemically inactive domains were only diminished for the sample calcined in an N2 atmosphere after electrochemical activation. X-ray Rietveld analysis revealed that the suitable transition metal distribution and content of the samples were different from those of typical layered rock-salt materials. Only that calcined in an N2 atmosphere had no spinel formation during charging and no oxide ion insertion reaction during discharging. No positive Co substitution effect was observed under the optimized preparation conditions. At the 100th cycle, the discharge capacity was 216 mAh g−1, which corresponds to 87% of the initial capacity (251 mAh g−1) at optimizing synthetic condition.

The recent discovery of Na3LiTi5O12 (NTO), which possesses spinel symmetry (, #227) with the 8a site occupied by Na, has enabled investigations into the effect of the 8a-site cation on the physical properties of spinel titanates. Hence, in this study, the optical and photocatalytic properties of NTO were investigated and compared with those of spinel Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) and rutile TiO2. The bandgaps were estimated theoretically using hybrid density functional theory and experimentally using the ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, and the obtained results were similar for both methods and spinel titanates. The valence- and conduction-band components of the spinel-type titanates were similar to those of other titanium oxides, and both NTO and LTO exhibited photocatalytic activity for sacrificial H2 evolution from water. However, although they have similar band structures and optical properties, the NTO photocatalytic activity was clearly lower than that of LTO. This can be attributed to the surface roughness and ease of defect formation in the NTO system, which hindered charge separation. These results indicate that the optical properties of spinel-type titanates can be tuned by replacing the cations at the 8a sites.

Solid-state NMR is a valuable tool for elucidating the structures and dynamics of materials at an atomic level. Proton multiple-quantum (MQ) /single-quantum (SQ) correlation NMR spectroscopy is widely used to probe spatial proximity among protons. In the triple-quantum (TQ)/SQ correlation experiment, the excitation of triple-quantum (TQ) coherences is traditionally achieved by a 90° pulse in conjugation with double-quantum (DQ) recoupling sequences. Nevertheless, such sequences often suffer from low TQ filtering efficiency and may lead to overlapping spinning sidebands in the indirect TQ dimension, especially at a slow MAS frequency. Herein, we design several supercycled symmetry-based RNnν γ-free TQ recoupling sequences and compare their performance via extensive numerical simulation and experiments. Experimental results further confirm that pulse sequence gives the highest TQ filtering efficiency of around 20% in the slow MAS regime (∼10 kHz). The 2D TQ/SQ spectrum at slow MAS is completely free of spinning sidebands in the TQ dimension due to its γ-free nature. We establish that such a γ-free pulse sequence is a superior candidate for TQ spectroscopy at slow MAS frequency.

Herein, a novel non-planar 2D COF with a stair-stepped structure was constructed from a Z-shaped building block for the first time. Compared with its similar planar COF, the unique stair-stepped non-planar COF possesses larger surface area and stronger fluorescence, which was further applied for specific explosive detection through a fluorescence quenching mechanism. This work not only extends the traditional planar 2D COF structures to unique non-planar structures based on the bottom-up design principle, but also expands the potential applications of COF materials.

Diffusion-ordered NMR spectroscopy (DOSY) constructs multidimensional spectra displaying signal strength as a function of Larmor frequency and of diffusion coefficient from experimental measurements using pulsed field gradient spin or stimulated echoes. Peak positions in the diffusion domain are determined by diffusion coefficients estimated by fitting experimental data to some variant of the Stejskal–Tanner equation, with the peak widths determined by the standard error estimated in the fitting process. The accuracy and reliability of the diffusion domain in DOSY spectra are therefore determined by the uncertainties in the experimental data and thus in part by the signal-to-noise ratio of the experimental spectra measured. Here the Cramér–Rao lower bound, Monte Carlo methods, and experimental data are used to investigate the relationship between signal-to-noise ratio, experimental parameters, and diffusion domain accuracy in 2D DOSY experiments. Experimental results confirm that sources of error other than noise put an upper limit on the improvement in diffusion domain accuracy obtainable by time averaging.

The conversion of CO2 into functional materials under ambient conditions is a major challenge to realize a carbon-neutral society. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have been extensively studied as designable porous materials. Despite the fact that CO2 is an attractive renewable resource, the synthesis of MOFs from CO2 remains unexplored. Chemical inertness of CO2 has hampered its conversion into typical MOF linkers such as carboxylates without high energy reactants and/or harsh conditions. Here, we present a one-pot conversion of CO2 into highly porous crystalline MOFs at ambient temperature and pressure. Cubic [Zn4O(piperazine dicarbamate)3] is synthesized via in situ formation of bridging dicarbamate linkers from piperazines and CO2 and shows high surface areas (∼2366 m2 g–1) and CO2 contents (>30 wt %). Whereas the dicarbamate linkers are thermodynamically unstable by themselves and readily release CO2, the formation of an extended coordination network in the MOF lattices stabilizes the linker enough to demonstrate stable permanent porosity.