7Li, 23Na, and 27Al quadrupolar interactions in some aluminosilicate sodalites from MAS n.m.r. spectra of satellite transitions

Low-temperature anharmonicity and symmetry breaking in the sodalite |Na8I2|[AlSiO4]6

The aluminosilicate iodide sodalite |Na8I2|[AlSiO4]6 was examined by temperature-dependent neutron time-of-flight powder diffraction from 5 K to 290 K and X-ray diffraction from 298 K to 1200 K. The temperature-dependent properties of the mean structure in space group P4̅3n were obtained by Rietveld analysis. A negative slope for the thermal expansion coefficient below 50 K could be observed, and the displacement parameters of the iodide ions indicate anharmonic effects. Local structure models (8×8×8 super cells) were refined against pair-distribution functions calculated from total scattering data collected at 5 K, 165 K and 240 K. The results indicate isotropic displacements for all atoms except for I-atoms, showing the effects of an anharmonic potential around this anion at very low temperatures.

Topotactic transformations of sodalite cages: synthesis and NMR study of mixed salt-free and salt-bearing sodalites

A series of mixed sodalite samples, Na(8)[Al(6)Si(6)O(24)]Br(x).(H(3)O(2))(2-x), with the unit cell stoichiometries varying in the 0 < x <2 region, was made by hydrothermal synthesis and subsequently transformed into Na(6+x)[Al(6)Si(6)O(24)]Br(x).(4H(2)O)(2-x) and Na(6+x)[Al(6)Si(6)O(24)]Br(x).circle(2-x) sodalites. Here, circle refers to an empty sodalite cage. The three series, referred hereafter to as the Br/basic, Br/hydro, and Br/dry series, were characterized by powder diffraction X-ray and by (23)Na, (27)Al, and (81)Br magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR and high-resolution triple quantum (TQ) MAS NMR spectroscopy. We determined that incorporation of Br(-) anions is 130 times more preferred than incorporation of H(3)O(2)(-) anions during the formation of sodalite cages, which permitted precise control of the halide content in the solid. Monotonic trends in chemical shifts were observed as a function of cage occupancy, reflecting continuous changes in structural parameters. A linear correlation between (81)Br chemical shift and lattice constant with a slope of -86 ppm/A was observed for all three series. Likewise, (23)Na chemical shifts for Na(+) cations in salt-bearing sodalite cages correlate linearly with the lattice constant. Both results indicate a universal dependence of the (23)Na and (81)Br chemical shifts on the Na-Br distance. The (27)Al chemical shifts of Br/basic and Br/hydro sodalites obey an established relation between delta(cs) and the average T-O-T bond angle of 0.72 ppm/degrees. Br/dry sodalites show two aluminum resonances, characterized by significantly different chemical shifts and quadrupolar interaction parameters. In that series, local symmetry distortions are evident from strong quadrupolar perturbations in the NMR spectra. P(Q) values for (27)Al vary between 0.8 MHz in Br/basic sodalites and 4.4 MHz in the Br/dry series caused by deviations from the tetrahedral symmetry of the salt-free sodalite cages. For (23)Na, P(Q) values of 0.8, 0.8, 2.0, and 5.7 MHz were found for sodium in bromo, basic, hydro, and dry cages, respectively. In addition, both (23)Na and (81)Br spectra offer some evidence that the Br(-) anions in the Br/dry sodalite are displaced from the center of the expanded sodalite cage. For all three series, the spectral deconvolution of the (23)Na NMR line shapes permits an accurate determination of the mixed sodalite stoichiometry.

Influence of sodium ion dynamics on the 23Na quadrupolar interaction in sodalite: a high-temperature 23Na MAS NMR study

High-temperature 33Na MAS NMR experiments up to 873 K for a number of different sodalites (Na8[AlSiO4]6(NO3)2, Na8[AlSiO4]6(NO2)2, Na8[AlSiO4]6I2, Na7.9[AlSiO4]6(SCN)7.9 x 0.5H2O, Na8[AlGeO4]6(NO3)2, and Na7[AlSiO4]6(H3O2) x 4H2O) were carried out. The spectra of the first five sodalites consist of a quadrupolar MAS pattern with different quadrupolar coupling constants. The quadrupolar interaction for the thiocyanate sodalite, the nitrate aluminosilicate, and germanate sodalite decreases strongly passing a coalescence state on heating, while the quadrupolar interaction of the iodide and nitrite sample shows nearly no change. The basic hydrosodalite shows an asymmetric lineshape at room temperature and, between 350 and 370 K, a second line due to the evaporation of cage-water emerges. The linewidth increases with rising temperature. The temperature dependence of the quadrupolar interaction seems to be a function of the sodalite beta-cage expansion. Two conceivable jump mechanisms are proposed for a tetrahedral two-site jump between occupied and unoccupied tetrahedral sites.

23Na solid state MAS NMR of sodium halides occluded in zeolites

Occlusion of sodium chloride and sodium bromide in zeolitic pores was performed by heating mixtures of the salts with zeolites NaY and NaA under high vacuum conditions. The obtained samples were subjected to various further pretreatments like washing with water and zinc-exchange, and were investigated spectroscopically with the 23Na MAS NMR technique at various Zeeman field strengths. In the case of NaY, the halides are occluded in both types of cages of the faujasite structure. About 90% of the sodalite cages are shown to have incorporated salt which is concluded to be part of [Na4Hal]3+ clusters as in the case of sodalite type materials.

Line shapes and widths of MAS sidebands for 27Al satellite transitions. multinuclear MAS NMR of tugtupite Na8Al2Be2Si8O24Cl2

A multinuclear 9Be, 23Na, 27Al, and 29Si magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR study has been performed for the mineral tugtupite (Na8Al2Be2Si8O24Cl2). The extremely well-resolved spectra allow observation of separate spinning sidebands (ssb's) from the inner (+/- 1/2, +/- 3/2) and outer (+/- 3/2, +/- 5/2) 27Al satellite transitions, and are utilized in a detailed analysis of the line shapes and widths of the individual ssb's from simulations. The line widths of the ssb's from the inner and outer 27Al satellite transitions are found to decrease systematically with increasing order of the ssb's across the spectrum. Accurate values for the 9Be, 23Na, and 27Al quadrupole coupling parameters and isotropic chemical shifts are obtained from simulations of the manifolds of ssb's from the satellite transitions. MAS NMR of the 9Be satellite transitions for tugtupite, BeO, and beryl(Al2Be3Si6O18) shows that these transitions are particularly useful for determination of 9Be quadrupole couplings because of the small 9Be quadrupole moment. The 29Si shielding anisotropy of delta sigma = 48 ppm in tugtupite is the largest determined so far for a framework SiO4 tetrahedron. Finally, the crystal structure of the tugtupite sample has been refined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and correlations between the multinuclear NMR parameters and structural data are reported.

6Li nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shifts, coordination number and relaxation in crystalline and glassy silicates

Unlike 7Li magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) spectra, 6Li MAS NMR spectra of silicates are dominated by chemical shift effects, often have a very high resolution and hence can provide significant structural information. In this study we demonstrate a good correlation between 6Li isotropic chemical shifts and oxygen coordination number, and use this result to describe the range of coordination environments for Li in silicate glasses. We also show that the second-order quadrupolar shift for 7Li can often be derived from 7Li and 6Li MAS spectra acquired at a single magnetic field. For a series of natural lepidolite samples with significant but varying contents of Mn and Fe, spin-lattice relaxation data show a power-law behavior and a three-dimensional distribution of paramagnetic centers, but homonuclear dipolar couplings can be important. The 6Li spectrum for lithium orthosilicate (which has three-, four-, five- and six-coordinated Li) is consistent with that predicted by the X-ray structure.

Detection of multiple boron sites in glasses by 11B satellite transition nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

The magic-angle spinning sidebands of the satellite transition (ST, m = +/- 3/2 <==> +/- 1/2) for 11B nuclear magnetic resonance (11B ST spectroscopy) have been used to detect multiple boron sites in Na2O-B2O3-SiO2 glasses. The experimental details and data analysis are described, how multiple BO4 and BO3 units can be distinguished using standard magic-angle spinning. For a 16Na2O-30B2O3-53.9SiO2 glass (0.1 MnO) two BO4 units with chemical shifts of -2.5 and 0 ppm were found which differ considerably in their quadrupole interaction. Besides this we found three different BO3 units with approximate chemical shifts of 17, 15, and 19 ppm. The results are compared with earlier measurements.

Observation of spinning sidebands in the 27Al magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of FAU and EMT structure-type zeolites

Wide-band (1 MHz) 27Al magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) spectra were recorded for zeolite Y (Si/Al approximately 2.7) and high-silica (Si/Al approximately 3.8) FAU, EMT and mixed FAU-EMT structure-type zeolites synthesized using 15-crown-5 and/or 18-crown-6 ethers as templating agents. Spinning sidebands (related to first-order quadrupolar effects affecting satellite transitions) are observed in the spectra of the four calcined and fully rehydrated samples, reflecting a high symmetry of the framework aluminium atom surrounded by four oxygens. It is shown that the intensity of the spinning sidebands progressively increases after calcination and rehydration of the samples, indicating that the restoration of the high local order around the 27Al nuclei is rather slow. On the other hand, second-order quadrupolar interactions rapidly decrease upon rehydration of the calcined samples which is achieved within one day, as indicated by thermogravimetry. Some hypotheses are proposed to explain such a difference, and the role of water is also discussed.

Quantitative structural analysis of mullite by 27Al nuclear magnetic resonance satellite transition spectroscopy

27Al Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) satellite transition spectroscopy has been used for the quantitative investigation of the microstructure of polycrystalline 2/1-type mullite (approximately 76 wt.-% Al2O3 and 24 wt.-% SiO2). Using this method the chemical shifts, quadrupole interaction parameters and relative amount of Al in the various coordination polyhedra have been obtained with high accuracy. The additional suppression of second-order quadrupolar broadening of the 27Al magic-angle spinning (MAS) spinning sidebands of the inner satellite transitions allows three different AlO4 units to be detected. The three AlO4 resonances with isotropic chemical shifts at 68, 53 and 45 ppm are associated with AlO4 polyhedra in the tetrahedral double chains [AlO4(T)], the tetrahedra adjacent to the oxygen vacancies [AlO4(T*)] and the tetrahedra AlO4(T') linked by Oc* with AlO4(T*), respectively. Our NMR study of a polycrystalline sample supports the results of previous single-crystal studies of Angel et al. [Am. Mineral., 76 (1991) 332], especially the exclusion of silicon from the tetrahedral sites linked by Oc*.

Determination of distributions of the quadrupole interaction in amorphous solids by 27Al satellite transition spectroscopy

27Al Satellite transition spectroscopy (SATRAS) has been used to extract both the quadrupole interaction and its distribution width from MAS spectra of glasses. Using this method a measurement at a single magnetic field strength allows one to obtain the true chemical shifts and the quadrupole interaction (and its distributions) with high accuracy, including quantification of the results. In contrast to earlier investigations the central transition MAS lineshapes can be described without assumptions and give correct relative proportions of differently coordinated Al species in glasses. The distribution model for the quadrupole interaction and the resulting MAS lineshapes are discussed in detail including a description of the experimental requirements. Experimental results of 27Al SATRAS spectra of a ternary Al2O3-B2O3-P2O5 glass exhibiting 4-, 5-, and 6-coordinated aluminum species clearly prove different mean values and distribution widths for the quadrupole interaction in the various AlOx polyhedra.