Acquisition of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer for Materials Research and Education

Missouri University Of Science And Technology, Rolla MO

Investigators

Abstract

This grant provides support for the acquisition of a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer for materials research and education in the Departments of Chemistry, Ceramic Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Graduate Center for Materials Research at the University of Missouri-Rolla. This NMR system will be used in research and analysis of solid materials, and to train students across disciplines on the use of NMR for the characterization of materials. This equipment will provide considerable new capabilities and allow important new experiments to be conducted. It will provide capabilities for cross-polarization (CP) and magic-angle spinning (MAS) and extended temperature capability, to allow researchers to probe the dynamics of polymers, phosphate glasses, hybrid and nano-filled composites. A high temperature, wide-line deuterium probe will allow the extension of current work on interfacial polymers to explore their behavior at higher temperatures, well above current temperature limits. Advances in materials science and engineering will take place because of our better understanding of the structure and behavior of solid-state materials. Next generation materials will need to be understood at the molecular level if we are to exploit their potential properties. Polymer thin films, inorganic glasses and other materials are difficult to characterize with many techniques. NMR studies provide a distinct view of the structure and dynamics of these systems that is unavailable from other methods. The research discoveries supported by this instrumentation will be of considerable importance in our understanding of novel materials, helping to keep the U.S. at the forefront of materials research. This will be done through the resulting research being disseminated in journals, at scientific meetings, and on the world-wide web. The impact of the work will be in areas where thin films and glass materials are used, such as in electronics, composites, adhesives, sealants and coatings. The students trained on this instrumentation will be from a wide variety of backgrounds and their exposure to this powerful technique, and the breadth of problems that it can help solve, will broaden their horizons considerably.