Dynamics of Isobutane inside Zeolite ZSM-5. A Study with Deuterium Solid-State NMR

Dynamics of isobutane is a sensitive probe for framework breathing in MIL-53 (Al) MOF

MIL-53 (Al) is an example of a MOF with a flexible framework featuring a broad range of applications such as hydrocarbon adsorption, separation and catalysis. Such processes are strongly influenced by the flexibility of the framework and thus require monitoring of the interrelation between the guest dynamics and framework breathing events. Here, we demonstrate that breathing of the framework can be monitored by probing the isobutane guest dynamics with 2H solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (2H NMR). We show that a stepwise change in the 2H NMR anisotropic line shape to an isotropic one occurs at 253 K, simultaneous with a notable change of the quadrupole coupling constant QAl0 of the 27Al framework aluminium atom. The stepwise variation of QAl0 is indicative of a breathing event in the MIL-53 (Al) framework structure. Such synchronous change is rationalized in terms of the sharp switch of the guest mobility from anisotropic to isotropic rotation due to the pore expansion upon structural phase transition. It is thus inferred that the dynamics of isobutane confined in the pores represents a very sensitive probe to follow breathing of the MIL-53 (Al) framework with loaded guest molecules.

Translational and rotational mobility of methanol-d4 molecules in NaX and NaY zeolite cages: a deuteron NMR investigation

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) provides means to investigate molecular dynamics at every state of matter. Features characteristic for the gas phase, liquid-like layers and immobilized methanol-d(4) molecules in NaX and NaY zeolites were observed in the temperature range from 300 K down to 20K. The NMR spectra at low temperature are consistent with the model in which molecules are bonded at two positions: horizontal (methanol oxygen bonded to sodium cation) and vertical (hydrogen bonding of hydroxyl deuteron to zeolite framework oxygen). Narrow lines were observed at high temperature indicating an isotropic reorientation of a fraction of molecules. Deuteron spin-lattice relaxation gives evidence for the formation of trimers, based on observation of different relaxation rates for methyl and hydroxyl deuterons undergoing isotropic reorientation. Internal rotation of methyl groups and fixed positions of hydrogen bonded hydroxyl deuterons in methyl trimers provide relaxation rates observed experimentally. A change in the slope of the temperature dependence of both relaxation rates indicates a transition from the relaxation dominated by translational motion to prevailing contribution of reorientation. Trimers undergoing isotropic reorientation disintegrate and separate molecules become localized on adsorption centers at 166.7 K and 153.8K for NaX and NaY, respectively, as indicated by extreme broadening of deuteron NMR spectra. Molecules at vertical position remain localized up to high temperatures. That indicates the dominating role of the hydrogen bonding. Mobility of single molecules was observed for lower loading (86 molecules/uc) in NaX. A direct transition from translation to localization was observed at 190 K.

1H NMR signal broadening in spectra of alkane molecules adsorbed on MFI-type zeolites

The anisotropic behavior of C1-C6 alkane molecules adsorbed in MFI zeolite was studied by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) using single-pulse excitation, Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) pulse sequence, Hahn echo (HE) pulse sequence, and magic-angle spinning. The molecular order parameter was obtained by both static 2H NMR spectroscopy and molecular simulations. This yields an order parameter in the range of 0.28-0.42 for linear alkanes in MFI zeolite, whereas the parameter equals zero for FAU zeolite with a cubic symmetry. Thus, in the case of a zeolite with a non-cubic symmetry like MFI, the mobility of the molecules in one crystallite cannot fully average the dipolar interaction. As a consequence, transverse nuclear magnetization as revealed in the echo attenuation notably deviates from a mono-exponential decay. This information is of particular relevance for the performance of pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR diffusion experiments, since the occurrence of non-exponential magnetization attenuation could be taken as an indication of the existence of different molecules or of molecules in different states of mobility.

Structural and dynamical properties of guest molecules confined in mesoporous silica materials revealed by NMR

In the last fifteen years several novel porous silica materials, which are periodically structured on the mesoscopic length scale, have been synthesized. They are of broad interest for fundamental studies of surface-substrate interactions, for studies of the dynamics of guest molecules in confinement and for studies of the effect of confinement on the structural and thermophysical properties of fluids. Examples of such confinement effects include the change of the freezing and melting points or glass transitions of the confined liquids. These effects are studied by combinations of several NMR techniques, such as (15)N- and (2)H-solid-state NMR line shape analysis, MAS NMR and NMR diffusometry with physico-chemical characterization techniques such as nitrogen adsorption and small angle diffraction of neutrons or X-rays. This combination does not require crystalline samples or special clean and well defined surfaces such as conventional surface science techniques, but can work with typical ill-defined real world systems. The review discusses, after a short introduction, the salient features of these materials and the applied NMR experiments to give the reader a basic knowledge of the systems and the experiments. The rest of the review then focuses on the structural and dynamical properties of guest molecules confined in the mesoporous silica. It is shown that the confinement into the pores leads to fascinating new features of the guests, which are often not known for their bulk phases. These features depend strongly on the interplay of the their interactions with the silica surface and their mutual interactions.

2H-solid state NMR and DSC study of isobutyric acid in mesoporous silica materials

Solid state deuterium NMR has been used to study the molecular motion of d(6)-isobutyric acid (d(6)-iBA) in the pure (unconfined) state and confined in the cylindrical pores of two periodic mesoporous silica materials (MCM-41, pore size 3.3 nm and SBA-15, pore size 8 nm), and in a controlled pore glass (CPG-10-75, pore size ca. 10 nm). The line shape analysis of the spectra at different temperatures revealed three rotational states of the iBA molecules: liquid (fast anisotropic reorientation of the molecule), solid I (rotation of the methyl group) and solid II (no rotational motion on the time scale of the experiment). Transition temperatures between these states were determined from the temperature dependence of the fraction of molecules in these states. Whereas the solid I-solid II transition temperature is not affected by confinement, a significant lowering of the liquid-solid I transition temperature in the pores relative to the bulk acid was found for the three matrix materials, exhibiting an unusual dependence on pore size and pore morphology. Complementary DSC measurements on the same systems show that the rotational melting (solid I-liquid) of d(6)-iBA in the pores occurs at a temperature 20-45 K below the thermodynamic melting point. This finding indicated that the decoupling of rotational and translational degrees of freedom in phase transitions in confined systems previously found for benzene is not restricted to molecules with non-specific interactions, but represents a more general phenomenon.

Reorientation phenomena in imidazolium methyl sulfonate as probed by advanced solid-state NMR

Evidence for reorientation of imidazolium rings in imidazolium methylsulfonate is demonstrated using solid-state NMR. This material is a model system for exciting new proton-conducting materials based on imidazole. Two advanced NMR methods, including 1H-13C and 1H-15N recoupled polarization transfer with dipolar sideband pattern analysis and analysis of the coalescence of 13C lineshapes are used to characterize the ring reorientation. The process is found to occur at temperatures well below the melting point of the salt, between 240 and 380 K, and is described by a single activation energy, of 38+/-5 kJ/mol. This material is considered as a model system for quantifying the ring reorientation process, which is often proposed to be the rate-limiting step in proton transport in imidazole-based proton conducting materials.