Symmetry breaking in thermally activated NH4 rotation studied by NMR level crossing spectroscopy

Ammonium tunnel levels and spin-rotational wavefunctions in (NH4)2S2O8

Proton spin-lattice relaxation in a single crystal of (NH4)2S2O8 was studied as a function of resonance frequency at various constant temperatures between 4.2 and 30 K. Two T1 minima were found, one at 8.6 MHz and the other at 4.3 MHz. They are related to the splitting between the lowest T level and the A level, equal to 8.6 MHz nearly independently of temperature below 25 K. Together with the large tunnel splitting of 269 MHz, determined earlier by Clough et al. (Chem. Phys. 152, 343 (1991)) our results define the spin-rotational wavefunction of the lowest T level very accurately, although those of the two higher T levels remain largely undetermined.

Quantitative atom-atom potentials from rotational tunneling: their extraction and their use

Rotational tunneling of small molecular groups has been the subject of considerable theoretical and experimental activity for several decades. Much of this activity has been driven by the promise of exploiting the extreme sensitivity of quantum tunneling to interatomic potentials, but until recently, there was no straightforward means by which quantitative information about these potentials could be extracted. This review explains how a quantitative method, suitable for general application, was developed. It then goes on to show how this has been used to understand tunneling systems for which no previous satisfactory explanation had been found. The application of the methodology, and its results, to other disciplines is discussed.

Spin-lattice relaxation in ammonium compounds with a complex molecular dynamics

Expressions are derived for the initial relaxation rate 1/T1 of protons and deuterons of nontunnelling NH4 and ND4 groups reorienting about various symmetry axes in solids. The reorientation rates are modified by a trigonal, tetragonal or monoclinic distortion of the predominantly cubic hindering potential. When the rates differ sufficiently from each other, two T1 minima are observed with a characteristic ratio. Experiments were performed in NH4VO3, (NH4)2S2O8, (NH4)2PtCl4, and their deuterated modifications, which all exhibit two T1 minima. In NH4VO3 and ND4VO3 the relaxation and spectral data agree rather well with the model of trigonal distortion. Also (NH4)2S2O8 has a preferred threefold axis but there, the large tunnel splitting of protons has to be taken into account before an agreement is reached. All the purely reorientational models fail with (NH4)2PtCl4, where, instead, the ammonium groups are proposed to be ordered into domains at low temperatures. The groups inside the domains and boundary regions give rise to the high- and low-temperature T1 minima, respectively. The boundaries are also believed to give rise to the narrow component in the deuteron spectrum at low temperatures. Evidence for a proton tunnelling frequency of 32 MHz is found in (NH4)2PtCl4.