Multinuclear Solid-State Magnetic Resonance Studies on ‘Exotic’ Quadrupolar Nuclei: Acquisition Methods, High-Order Effects, Quantum Chemical Computations, and NMR Crystallography

Abstract

This dissertation attempts to extend the classes of halogen-containing systems which may be studied using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (SSNMR). As line shape broadening due to the quadrupolar interaction (QI) scales inversely with the applied field, high-field magnet technology is indispensable for this research. Combining advanced radiofrequency pulse sequences with high-field wideline data acquisition allowed for the collection of very broad SSNMR signals of all quadrupolar halogen nuclei (i.e., 35/37Cl, 79/81Br and 127I) within a reasonable amount of experimental time. The initial systems for study were of the MX2 variety (M = Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba; X = Cl, Br, I). In total, 9 anhydrous compounds were tested. The effects of hydrate formation were tested on 7 additional compounds. Systematic trends in the observed δiso values (and to a lesser extent, Ω and CQ) were found to be diagnostic of the extent of hydration in these materials. Resolving power was successfully tested using SrBr2, which possesses 4 magnetically unique sites. The composition of CaBr2•xH2O was convincingly determined using SSNMR data and the hydration trends noted above. The sensitivity of the QI to the local bonding environment (e.g., bond distance changes of less than 0.05 Å) was used to refine (when coupled with gauge-including projector augmented-wave density functional theory (GIPAW DFT) quantum chemical computations) the structure of MgBr2, and was used to correct prior NMR data for CaCl2 (earlier accounts had been performed upon a CaCl2 hydrate). During NMR data analysis of certain iodine-containing materials, it was found that standard fitting software (which uses perturbation theory) could not reproduce the observations. Proper analysis required the use of exact simulation software and allowed for the observation of high-order quadrupole-induced effects (HOQIE). This motivated further studies using rhenium-185/187 nuclei, where it was expected that HOQIE would be more dramatic. The observed rhenium SSNMR spectra possessed additional fine structure that had never been observed before experimentally, nor would be expected from currently-available perturbation theory analysis software. Lastly, preliminary results are shown where 127I SSNMR is used to study important supramolecular systems, and the composition of the popular synthetic reagent ‘GaI’ is elucidated