Magic Angle Spinning NMR of Macromolecular and Supramolecular Systems

Structural characterisation methods for supramolecular chemistry that go beyond crystallography

Supramolecular chemistry has grown rapidly over the past three decades, yet synthetic supramolecular chemists still face several challenges when it comes to characterising their compounds. In this review, we present an introduction to structural characterisation techniques commonly used for non-crystalline supramolecular molecules, e.g. nuclear magnetic and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR and EPR), mass spectrometry (MS), ion mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS), small-angle neutron and X-ray scattering (SANS and SAXS) as well as cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM). We provide an overview of their fundamental concepts based on case studies from different fields of supramolecular chemistry, e.g. interlocked structures, molecular self-assembly and host-guest chemistry, while focussing on particular strengths and weaknesses of the discussed methods. Additionally, three multi-technique case studies are examined in detail to illustrate the benefits of using complementary techniques simultaneously.

Interplay Between π-Stacking and Hydrogen Bonding in the Self-Association of Different Isomers of Naphthalenedicarboxylic Acid

Using proton and carbon chemical shifts, we investigated the self-association of three isomers of naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, a model for the aggregation of asphaltenes. Experimental proton chemical shifts of each isomer were measured as a function of concentration in an aprotic solvent. Several potential structures of the monomer and dimer of each naphthalenedicarboxylic acid were considered, and calculated proton chemical shifts for the potential monomer and dimer structures were compared to the experimental chemical shifts to find the weighted average structure that best fit the experimental shifts. Calculated carbon chemical shifts were also compared to experimental values. The chemical shift comparison and calculated energies indicate that π-stacked dimers are not likely to contribute significantly to the dimer structure of any of the three naphthalenedicarboxylic acid isomers studied.