A reference compound for ^199mHg perturbed angular correlation of γ-rays spectroscopy

$^{199m}$ Hg is a very useful probe for perturbed angular correlation of $\gamma$ -rays (PAC) spectroscopy. Here we present $^{199m}$ Hg PAC data for a Hg $^{2+}$ containing compound, Hg(Cys)$_{2}$(s), giving one unique nuclear quadrupole interaction (NQI). Four separate sample preparations were carried out, and measured on analogue and digital PAC setups, leading to the following reference data: $\nu$$_{Q}$ = 1.458(7) GHz and $\eta$ = 0.10(6) . The compound may be applied as an easy-to-synthesize reference sample, providing fast control of the effective anisotropy and time calibration of PAC instruments to be used for $^{199m}$ Hg PAC experiments

Billion-fold enhancement in sensitivity of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for magnesium ions in solution

β-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is highly sensitive compared to conventional NMR spectroscopy, and may be applied for several elements across the periodic table. β-NMR has previously been successfully applied in the fields of nuclear and solid-state physics. In this work, β-NMR is applied, for the first time, to record an NMR spectrum for a species in solution. 31Mg β-NMR spectra are measured for as few as 107 magnesium ions in ionic liquid (EMIM-Ac) within minutes, as a prototypical test case. Resonances are observed at 3882.9 and 3887.2 kHz in an external field of 0.3 T. The key achievement of the current work is to demonstrate that β-NMR is applicable for the analysis of species in solution, and thus represents a novel spectroscopic technique for use in general chemistry and potentially in biochemistry

Dynamics of Liquid 1-Ethyl-3-Methylimidazolium Acetate Measured with Implanted-Ion ⁸Li β-NMR

We demonstrate the application of implanted-ion $\beta$-detected NMR as a probe of ionic liquid molecular dynamics through the measurement of $^8$Li spin-lattice relaxation (SLR) and resonance in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate. The motional narrowing of the resonance, and the local maxima in the SLR rate, $1/T_1$, imply a sensitivity to sub-nanosecond Li$^+$ solvation dynamics. From an analysis of $1/T_1$, we extract an activation energy ${E_A = 74.8 \pm 1.5}$ meV and Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann constant ${T_{\mathrm{VFT}} = 165.8 \pm 0.9}$ K, in agreement with the dynamic viscosity of the bulk solvent. Near the melting point, the lineshape is broad and intense, and the form of the relaxation is non-exponential, reflective of our sensitivity to heterogeneous dynamics near the glass transition. The depth resolution of this technique may later provide a unique means of studying nanoscale phenomena in ionic liquids