A determination of individual spectral densities in a smectic liquid crystal from angle dependent nuclear spin relaxation measurements

A Multi-Scale Study of Water Dynamics under Confinement, Exploiting Numerical Simulations in Relation to NMR Relaxometry, PGSE and NMR Micro-Imaging Experiments: An Application to the Clay/Water Interface

Water mobility within the porous network of dense clay sediments was investigated over a broad dynamical range by using 2H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Multi-quanta 2H NMR spectroscopy and relaxation measurements were first performed to identify the contributions of the various relaxation mechanisms monitoring the time evolution of the nuclear magnetisation of the confined heavy water. Secondly, multi-quanta spin-locking NMR relaxation measurements were then performed over a broad frequency domain, probing the mobility of the confined water molecules on a time-scale varying between microseconds and milliseconds. Thirdly, 1H NMR pulsed-gradient spin-echo attenuation experiments were performed to quantify water mobility on a time-scale limited by the NMR transverse relaxation time of the confined NMR probe, typically a few milliseconds. Fourthly, the long living quantum state of the magnetisation of quadrupolar nuclei was exploited to probe a two-time correlation function at a time-scale reaching one second. Finally, magnetic resonance imaging measurements allow probing the same dynamical process on time-scales varying between seconds and several hours. In that context, multi-scale modelling is required to interpret these NMR measurements and extract information on the influences of the structural properties of the porous network on the apparent mobility of the diffusing water molecules. That dual experimental and numerical approach appears generalizable to a large variety of porous networks, including zeolites, micelles and synthetic or biological membranes.

Using solution state NMR spectroscopy to probe NMR invisible gelators

Supramolecular hydrogels are formed via the self-assembly of gelator molecules upon application of a suitable trigger. The exact nature of this self-assembly process has been widely investigated as a practical understanding is vital for the informed design of these materials. Solution-state NMR spectroscopy is an excellent non-invasive tool to follow the self-assembly of supramolecular hydrogels. However, in most cases the self-assembled aggregates are silent by conventional (1)H NMR spectroscopy due to the low mobility of the constituent molecules, limiting NMR spectroscopy to following only the initial assembly step(s). Here, we present a new solution-state NMR spectroscopic method which allows the entire self-assembly process of a dipeptide gelator to be followed. This gelator forms transparent hydrogels by a multi-stage assembly process when the pH of an initially alkaline solution is lowered via the hydrolysis of glucono-δ-lactone (GdL). Changes in the charge, hydrophobicity and relative arrangement of the supramolecular aggregates can be followed throughout the assembly process by measuring the residual quadrupolar couplings (RQCs) of various molecular probes (here, (14)NH4(+) and isopropanol-d8), along with the NMR relaxation rates of (23)Na(+). The initially-formed aggregates comprise negatively charged fibrils which gradually lose their charge and become increasingly hydrophobic as the pH falls, eventually resulting in a macroscopic contraction of the hydrogel. We also demonstrate that the in situ measurement of pH by NMR spectroscopy is both convenient and accurate, representing a useful tool for the characterisation of self-assembly processes by NMR.

Analysis of the Degree of Nematic Ordering within Dense Aqueous Dispersions of Charged Anisotropic Colloids by 23Na NMR Spectroscopy

Aqueous dispersions of Laponite, a synthetic clay neutralized by sodium counterions, are used as a model of charged anisotropic colloids to probe the influence of the shape of the particle on their organization within a macroscopic nematic phase. Because of the large fraction of condensed sodium counterions in the vicinity of the clay particle, (23)Na NMR is a sensitive probe of the nematic ordering of the clay dispersions. We used line shape analysis of the (23)Na NMR spectra and measurements of the Hahn echo attenuation to quantify the degree of alignment of the individual clay particles along a single nematic director. As justified by simple dynamical simulations of the interplay between the sodium quadrupolar relaxation and its diffusion through the porous network limited by the surface of the clay particles, we probe the degree of ordering within these clay nematic dispersions by measuring the variation of the apparent (23)Na NMR relaxation rates as a function of the macroscopic orientation of the clay dispersion within the magnetic field.

Chain dynamics in a chiral C phase by deuteron spin relaxation study

Molecular reorientations and internal conformational transitions of an aligned chiral liquid crystal (LC) 10B1M7 are studied by means of deuterium spin-lattice relaxation in its smectic A (SmA) and smectic C* (SmC*) phase. The motional model which is applicable to uniaxial phases of many LCs is found to be adequate even when the phase is a tilted SmC* phase. The deuterium NMR spectrum in this phase cannot discern rotations of the molecular director about the pitch axis. The basic assumption is that the phase biaxiality is practically unobservable. However, the relaxation rates can be accounted for by the tilt angle between the molecular director and the layer normal in the SmC* phase. The tumbling motion appears to show a higher activation energy upon entering from the uniaxial SmA into the SmC* phase.