Switch Angle Sample Spinning Probes and High Resolution Dipolar Recoupling with Quadrupolar Nuclei

West Virginia University Research Corporation, Morgantown WV

Investigators

Abstract

In this award, funded by the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program of the Division of Chemistry, Professor Terry Gullion of West Virginia University and his undergraduate and graduate student researchers will be supported to develop new solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods for measuring dipolar coupling between nuclei with spin = 1/2 and quadrupolar nuclei. Careful measurement of the coupling between nuclei can yield accurate information on the distance between atoms in chemical materials. Professor Gullion will do this through development of novel sample spinning methods in conjunction with the design and construction of new kinds of probes. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is an important physicochemical method that gives precise chemical and structural information. The methods that Prof. Gullion and his student researchers will develop will enable scientists to measure inter-nuclear distances between nuclei that are difficult to deal with, experimentally. The work has the potential to open up new vistas in biological and materials science where the kind of information that can be obtained from these types of experiments is critical in order to relate structure with function. The undergraduate and graduate students working on this project will gain useful experience in building hardware for NMR experiments. As part of this work, Prof. Gullion will also conduct workshops on NMR hardware (transmission line probe) construction for members of the scientific community.