The intensity of NMR signals can be enhanced by several orders of magnitude by using various techniques for the hyperpolarization of different molecules. Such approaches can overcome the main sensitivity challenges facing modern NMR/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, whilst hyperpolarized fluids can also be used in a variety of applications in material science and biomedicine. This Focus Review considers the fundamentals of the preparation of hyperpolarized liquids and gases by using dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (d-DNP) and parahydrogen-based techniques, such as signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) and parahydrogen-induced polarization (PHIP), in both heterogeneous and homogeneous processes. The various new aspects in the formation and utilization of hyperpolarized fluids, along with the possibility of observing NMR signal enhancement, are described.

Parahydrogen‐induced polarization with heterogeneous catalysts (HET‐PHIP) has been a subject of extensive research in the last decade since its first observation in 2007. While NMR signal enhancements obtained with such catalysts are currently below those achieved with transition metal complexes in homogeneous hydrogenations in solution, this relatively new field demonstrates major prospects for a broad range of advanced fundamental and practical applications, from providing catalyst‐free hyperpolarized fluids for biomedical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to exploring mechanisms of industrially important heterogeneous catalytic processes. This review covers the evolution of the heterogeneous catalysts used for PHIP observation, from metal complexes immobilized on solid supports to bulk metals and single‐atom catalysts and discusses the general visions for maximizing the obtained NMR signal enhancements using HET‐PHIP. Various practical applications of HET‐PHIP, both for catalytic studies and for potential production of hyperpolarized contrast agents for MRI, are described.

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Selectivity to the products formation is strongly correlated with the nature of catalyst active centers. Therefore, the selective synthesis of active sites with certain structure is a big challenge in...

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Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful technique to characterize reactors during operating catalytic processes. However, MRI studies of heterogeneous catalytic reactions are particularly challenging because the low spin density of reacting and product fluids (for gas phase reactions) as well as magnetic field inhomogeneity, caused by the presence of a solid catalyst inside a reactor, exacerbate already low intrinsic sensitivity of this method. While hyperpolarization techniques such as parahydrogen induced polarization (PHIP) can substantially increase the NMR signal intensity, this general strategy to enable MR imaging of working heterogeneous catalysts to date remains underexplored. Here, we present a new type of model catalytic reactors for MRI that allow the characterization of a heterogeneous hydrogenation reaction aided by the PHIP signal enhancement, but also suitable for the imaging of regular nonpolarized gases. These catalytic systems permit exploring the complex interplay between chemistry and fluid-dynamics that are typically encountered in practical systems, but mostly absent in simple batch reactors. High stability of the model reactors at catalytic conditions and their fabrication simplicity make this approach compelling for in situ studies of heterogeneous catalytic processes by MRI.Catalytic processes (e. g., hydrogenation, reforming, oxidation, etc.) are at the cornerstone of chemical and petrochemical industry [1] and, to make these processes more sustainable, control over reaction selectivity, conversion rates, mass and heat transport inside the working reactor (that is under operando conditions) is required. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a tool applicable to operando studies that provide information for example about the distribution of liquids in the catalyst pellet during hydrogenation of α-methylstyrene [2] or heptene, [3] the coke profiles within a catalyst pellet, [4] the flow of water [5] or propane [6] through a packed bed, the structure of a porous medium and the water flow during the deposition of fines, [7] or the velocities of particles in a fluidized bed. [8][9][10] MRI of reactors utilizing gases are not as developed as studies of liquids because the spin density in the gas phase is ca. 3 orders of magnitude lower relative to the condensed phase, which significantly limits the deployment of MRI for studying gases. [11] Nevertheless, a recent report showed that the distribution of the reactants and products inside a monolith type reactor can be measured even in the gas phase during ethylene hydrogenation reaction using two different catalyst supports, thereby revealing an effect of the support on the mass and heat transport. [12] Overall, to date, there are only a handful of MRI studies of the gas phase reactions with regular non-hyperpolarized gases. [13,14] The limitation of low NMR sensitivity spurs the implementation of hyperpolarization techniques, which can potentially increase the intensity of NMR signals by up to several orders of magnitude, including spin-ex...

Parahydrogen-induced polarization (PHIP) is a powerful technique for studying hydrogenation reactions in both gas and liquid phases.

The ability to use molecular hydrogen, H 2 , as a buffer gas in spin exchange optical pumping of noble gases enables the production of hydrogen gas containing a low percentile (5%) of hyperpolarized (HP) 129 Xe as a tracer for in situ NMR spectroscopy of hydrogenation reactions. It is demonstrated that the xenon chemical shift, observed in the porous space of Pt-containing alumina pellets, can be used to monitor the temperature changes under rapidly progressing, nonsteady-state conditions during start-up of the catalytic reaction. Standard proton MR imaging was successfully applied to provide in situ evaluation of conversion for the catalyst used in this work.