Geometry and tunneling dynamics of CHD2 groups in aspirin: A single-crystal deuteron nuclear magnetic resonance study

High-Precision Determination of NMR Interaction Parameters by Measurement of Single Crystals: A Review of Classical and Advanced Methods

In this review, the process of extracting precise values for NMR interaction tensors from single crystal samples is systematically explored. Starting with a description of the orientation dependence of the considered interactions, i.e., chemical shift, dipolar, and quadrupole interaction, the techniques for acquiring and analysing single-crystal spectra are outlined. This includes the 'classical' approach, which requires the acquisition of three rotation patterns around three rotation axes that are orthogonal to each other, as well as more recent strategies aimed at reducing the number of required NMR spectra. One such strategy is the 'single-rotation method', which exploits the symmetry relations between tensors in the crystal structure to reduce the necessary amount of orientation-dependent data. This concept may be extended to additionally include the orientation of the goniometer axis itself in the data fit, which may be termed the 'minimal-rotation method'. Other, more exotic schemes, such as the use of specialised probe designs or the investigation of single crystals under magic-angle-spinning, are also briefly discussed. Actual values of NMR interaction tensors as determined from the various single-crystal methods have been collected and are provided in tables for spin I=1/2, I=1, and half-integer spins with I>1/2.

The low-temperature 13C and 2H spectra and relaxation rates of methyl groups depend on the azimuth of B0 in the molecular frame. Those of 1H do not. Why?

It is shown that the answer to the question asked in the title is: Because the axial symmetry axes of the H-H dipolar coupling tensors in a -CH3 group are perpendicular to the (assumed) threefold axis of the group. By contrast, those of the 13C-H dipolar and 2H quadrupolar coupling tensors are not. The use of "symmetry adapted" spin functions and of a symmetry adapted form of the (dipolar) coupling Hamiltonian greatly simplifies the analysis.

The shape and information content of high-field solid-state proton NMR spectra of methyl groups

The possible variation of the lineshape of the high-field 1H spectrum of methyl groups is explored by simulation and experiment. The spectrum of an isolated methyl group depends, apart from the orientation of the applied field B0 relative to the C3-axis of the group, on its rotational tunnel frequency vt and on its stochastic reorientation rate k. For quantitative analyses, the directional mobility of the C3-axis must also be taken into account. A distinct but frequently occurring case arises when the methyl groups come as pairs of magnetically equivalent close neighbours. For the experiments, single crystals of four compounds I-IV were grown that were isotopically substituted such that they contained protons only in the methyl positions. The crystal symmetry of all compounds I-IV allowed us to record spectra with all methyl groups being orientationally and otherwise equivalent. I, acetonitrile in deuterated hydroquinone, represents the case of a well-isolated methyl group with a "high" tunnel frequency vt. Its spectrum is (almost) independent of the temperature T. In II, monomethyl malonic acid, vt is comparable in size with the strength of the intramolecular dipolar H-H interaction. All seven theoretically expected lines in the 1H spectrum are clearly resolved in the spectra of II. vt can be inferred with an uncertainty of only +/- 300 Hz. vt(T) is found to possess a (flat) maximum near 40 K. Compound III, L-alanine, allows the study of the case of a methyl group with an extremely low, although nonzero tunnel frequency (vt approximately 3 kHz) while IV, dimethylglyoxime, represents the case of a close pair of equivalent methyl groups. Its spectrum reflects intriguing structural implications.

Spin-lattice relaxation of 13CH3 groups in 13C-enriched aspirin after proton saturation

We studied the spin-lattice relaxation of the 13C magnetisation, M(C), in 13C-enriched single crystal of aspirin (only methyl carbons enriched to 99%) at the carbon resonance frequency of 54.5 MHz. After the carbon saturation the recovery appears exponential except below 30K, where it is biexponential due to the presence of the level crossing omega(t)=omega(C)+omega(H) (the symbols refer, respectively, to the tunnel frequency and the carbon and proton resonance frequencies in angular units). After the saturation of the proton magnetisation, M(H), the description of the M(C) recovery needs three exponentials. The evaluation of the time constants is easiest from the data in this case, since M(C) varies with time in an initial growth-subsequent decrease (or an initial decrease-subsequent growth depending on temperature) manner, instead of the monotonous growth after the carbon saturation. Experimental data agree semiquantitatively with the predictions of our recent model. According to the model the relaxation of M(C) is coupled to M(H) and the tunnel energy TE at temperatures below the minimum of the 13C relaxation time. Sufficiently above this minimum M(C) is coupled to M(H) and the rotational polarization (but not to TE) in agreement with experiment. Also the effect of torsional oscillations of a methyl group on the magnitude of various 13C-related transition rates was considered in detail. In aspirin the rates are reduced roughly by 10% and the reduction should become larger in samples with a larger tunnel splitting. The reduction also changes somewhat the angular dependence of these rates.

Precision measurement of the quadrupole coupling and chemical shift tensors of the deuterons in alpha-calcium formate

Using calcium formate, alpha-Ca(DCOO)2, as a test sample, we explore how precisely deuteron quadrupole coupling (QC) and chemical shift (CS) tensors Q and sigma can currently be measured. The error limits, +/-0.09 kHz for the components of Q and +/-0.06 ppm for those of sigma, are at least three times lower than in any comparable previous experiment. The concept of a new receiver is described. A signal/noise ratio of 100 is realized in single-shot FT spectra. The measurement strategies and a detailed error analysis are presented. The precision of the measurement of Q is limited by the uncertainty of the rotation angles of the sample and that of sigma by the uncertainty of the phase correction parameters needed in FT spectroscopy. With a 4-sigma confidence, it is demonstrated for the first time that the unique QC tensor direction of a deuteron attached to a carbon deviates from the bond direction; the deviation found is (1.2+/-0.3 degrees ). Evidence is provided for intermolecular QC contributions. In terms of Q, their size is roughly 4 kHz. The deuteron QC tensors in alpha-Ca(DCOO)2 (two independent deuteron sites) are remarkable in three respects. For deuterons attached to sp2 carbons, first, the asymmetry factors eta and, second, the quadrupole coupling constants C(Q), are unusually small, eta1=0.018, eta2=0.011, and C(Q1)=(151.27+/-0.06) kHz, C(Q2)=(154.09+/-0.06) kHz. Third, the principal direction associated with the largest negative QC tensor component lies in and not, as usual, perpendicular to the molecular plane. A rationalization is provided for these observations. The CS tensors obtained are in quantitative agreement with the results of an earlier, less precise, line-narrowing multiple-pulse study of alpha-Ca(HCOO)2. The assignment proposed in that work is confirmed. Finally we argue that a further 10-fold increase of the measurement precision of deuteron QC tensors, and a 2-fold increase of that of CS tensors, should be possible. We indicate the measures that need to be taken.

Iterative lineshape analysis of quadrupolar echo spectra of a damped CD(3) quantum rotor: preliminary evidence of a novel mechanism of stochastic spin exchange

It is demonstrated that the wealth of information about damped quantum rotation of CD(3) groups, contained in quadrupolar echo spectra, can be fully explored in a broad temperature range using a method of iterative analysis of the spectral lineshapes. The recently reported lineshape equation which, apart from the quantum tunneling and the dissipative Alexander--Binsch terms, contains an additional dissipative term having no classical analog is shown to be capable of describing even subtle details of the spectra of a crystal of acetylsalicylic acid--CD(3) oriented specifically in the magnetic field. Preliminary evidence of the occurrence of this novel dissipative mechanism in the system studied is reported. The results obtained seem to suggest that there is no "classical limit" in the dissipative behavior of this system.