No abstract

Although solid-state NMR (SSNMR) provides rich information about molecular structure and dynamics, the small spin population differences between pairs of spin states that give rise to NMR transitions make it an inherently insensitive spectroscopic technique in terms of signal acquisition. Scientists have continuously addressed this issue via improvements in NMR hardware and probes, increases in the strength of the magnetic field, and the development of innovative pulse sequences and acquisition methodologies. As a result, researchers can now study NMR-active nuclides previously thought to be unobservable or too unreceptive for routine examination via SSNMR. Several factors can make it extremely challenging to detect signal or acquire spectra using SSNMR: (i) low gyromagnetic ratios (i.e., low Larmor frequencies), (ii) low natural abundances or dilution of the nuclide of interest (e.g., metal nuclides in proteins or in organometallic catalysts supported on silica), (iii) inconvenient relaxation characteristics (e.g., very long longitudinal or very short transverse relaxation times), and/or (iv) extremely broad powder patterns arising from large anisotropic NMR interactions. Our research group has been particularly interested in efficient acquisition of broad NMR powder patterns for a variety of spin-1/2 and quadrupolar (spin > 1/2) nuclides. Traditionally, researchers have used the term "wideline" NMR to refer to experiments yielding broad (1)H and (2)H SSNMR spectra ranging from tens of kHz to ∼250 kHz in breadth. With modern FT NMR hardware, uniform excitation in these spectral ranges is relatively easy, allowing for the acquisition of high quality spectra. However, spectra that range in breadth from ca. 250 kHz to tens of MHz cannot be uniformly excited with conventional, high-power rectangular pulses. Rather, researchers must apply special methodologies to acquire such spectra, which have inherently low S/N because the signal intensity is spread across such large spectral breadths. We have suggested the term ultra-wideline NMR (UWNMR) spectroscopy to describe this set of methodologies. This Account describes recent developments in pulse sequences and strategies for the efficient acquisition of UWNMR spectra. After an introduction to anisotropically broadened NMR patterns, we give a brief history of methods used to acquire UWNMR spectra. We then discuss new acquisition methodologies, including the acquisition of CPMG echo trains and the application of pulses capable of broadband excitation and refocusing. Finally, we present several applications of UWNMR methods that use these broadband pulses.

ABSTRACT:This article is concerned with the analysis of electric field gradients (EFGs) using first-principles theory along with model calculations. Simple atomic orbital (AO) models for the EFG are developed in the spirit of the Townes-Dailey (TD) analysis and applied to various sets of sp n hybrid orbitals and to atomic d orbital shells. These AO models are then combined with modern analysis methods rooted in first principles theory which provide accurate localized molecular orbital contributions to the EFG. It is shown by density functional computations how such analyses of the EFG for a variety of typical structural motifs can provide an intuitive way of understanding the chemical origin of the magnitude and the sign of EFG tensors at atomic nuclei, as well as of their orientation with respect to the molecular coordinate frame. The utility of graphical visualizations of EFG tensors is also emphasized. The systems that are investigated span the range from very small molecules (carbon and sulfur EFGs in CO, CS, OCS) to small-and medium-sized molecules (nitrogen and aluminum EFGs in ammonia, methyl-cyanide and -isocyanide, aluminum AlX 3 model systems and various alumino-organic systems), to the metal atom field gradient in transition metal complexes with Ru and Nb and a variety of ligands.

A 'molecular shuttle' is an interlocked molecular assembly in which a macrocyclic ring is able to move back and forth between two recognition sites. This large-amplitude translational motion was first characterized in solution in 1991. Since that report, many mechanically interlocked molecules (MIMs) have been designed, synthesized and shown to mimic the complex functions of macroscopic switches and machines. Here, we show that this fundamental concept-the translational motion of a molecular shuttle-can be organized, initiated and made to operate inside a crystalline, solid-state material. A metal-organic framework (MOF) designated UWDM-4 was prepared that contains a rigid linker that is a molecular shuttle. It was demonstrated by variable-temperature (1)H-(13)C cross-polarization/magic-angle spinning (CP/MAS) and (13)C 2D exchange correlation spectroscopy (EXSY) solid-state NMR at 21.1 T on a (13)C-enriched sample that the macrocyclic ring undergoes rapid shuttling along the rigid axle built between struts of the framework.

The dynamics of mechanically interlocked molecules such as rotaxanes and catenanes have been studied in solution as examples of rudimentary molecular switches and machines, but in this medium, the molecules are randomly dispersed and their motion incoherent. As a strategy for achieving a higher level of molecular organization, we have constructed a metal-organic framework material using a [2]rotaxane as the organic linker and binuclear Cu(II) units as the nodes. Activation of the as-synthesized material creates a void space inside the rigid framework that allows the soft macrocyclic ring of the [2]rotaxane to rotate rapidly, unimpeded by neighbouring molecular components. Variable-temperature (13)C and (2)H solid-state NMR experiments are used to characterize the nature and rate of the dynamic processes occurring inside this unique material. These results provide a blueprint for the future creation of solid-state molecular switches and molecular machines based on mechanically interlocked molecules.