Hydrogen microstructure in amorphous hydrogenated silicon

Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Enhanced Multiple-Quantum Spin Counting of Molecular Assemblies in Vitrified Solutions

Crystallization pathways are essential to various industrial, geological, and biological processes. In nonclassical nucleation theory, prenucleation clusters (PNCs) form, aggregate, and crystallize to produce higher order assemblies. Microscopy and X-ray techniques have limited utility for PNC analysis due to the small size (0.5-3 nm) and time stability constraints. We present a new approach for analyzing PNC formation based on 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spin counting of vitrified molecular assemblies. The use of glassing agents ensures that vitrification generates amorphous aqueous samples and offers conditions for performing dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP)-amplified NMR spectroscopy. We demonstrate that molecular adenosine triphosphate along with crystalline, amorphous, and clustered calcium phosphate materials formed via a nonclassical growth pathway can be differentiated from one another by the number of dipolar coupled 31P spins. We also present an innovative approach for examining spin counting data, demonstrating that a knowledge-based fitting of integer multiples of cosine wave functions, instead of the traditional Fourier transform, provides a more physically meaningful retrieval of the existing frequencies. This is the first report of multiquantum spin counting of assemblies formed in solution as captured under vitrified DNP conditions, which can be useful for future analysis of PNCs and other aqueous molecular clusters.

Two-dimensional single- and multiple-quantum correlation spectroscopy in zero-field nuclear magnetic resonance

We present single- and multiple-quantum correlation J-spectroscopy detected in zero (<1μG) magnetic field using a ⁸⁷Rb vapor-cell magnetometer. At zero field the spectrum of ethanol appears as a mixture of ¹³C isotopomers, and correlation spectroscopy is useful in separating the two composite spectra. We also identify and observe the zero-field equivalent of a double-quantum transition in ¹³C₂-acetic acid, and show that such transitions are of use in spectral assignment. Two-dimensional spectroscopy further improves the high resolution attained in zero-field NMR since selection rules on the coherence-transfer pathways allow for the separation of otherwise overlapping resonances into distinct cross-peaks.

DNP-NMR of surface hydrogen on silicon microparticles

Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) enhanced nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) offers a promising route to studying local atomic environments at the surface of both crystalline and amorphous materials. We take advantage of unpaired electrons due to defects close to the surface of the silicon microparticles to hyperpolarize adjacent ¹H nuclei. At 3.3 T and 4.2 K, we observe the presence of two proton peaks, each with a linewidth on the order of 5 kHz. Echo experiments indicate a homogeneous linewidth of ∼150-300 Hz for both peaks, indicative of a sparse distribution of protons in both environments. The high frequency peak at 10 ppm lies within the typical chemical shift range for proton NMR, and was found to be relatively stable over repeated measurements. The low frequency peak was found to vary in position between -19 and -37 ppm, well outside the range of typical proton NMR shifts, and indicative of a high-degree of chemical shielding. The low frequency peak was also found to vary significantly in intensity across different experimental runs, suggesting a weakly-bound species. These results suggest that the hydrogen is located in two distinct microscopic environments on the surface of these Si particles.

A study of hydrogen microstructure in amorphous silicon via inversion of nuclear magnetic resonance spectra

We present an inverse approach for studying hydrogen microstructure in amorphous silicon. The approach consists of generating a prior distribution (of spins/hydrogen) by inverting experimental nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data, which is subsequently superimposed on a network of amorphous silicon. The resulting network is then relaxed using a total-energy functional to obtain a stable, low-energy configuration such that the initial spin distribution is minimally perturbed. The efficacy of this approach is demonstrated by generating model configurations that not only have the correct NMR spectra but also satisfy simultaneously experimental structural, electronic and vibrational properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

Vacancies, microstructure and the moments of nuclear magnetic resonance: the case of hydrogenated amorphous silicon

Recent experiments on hydrogenated amorphous silicon using infrared absorption spectroscopy have indicated the presence of mono- and divacancies in samples for concentrations of up to 14% hydrogen. Motivated by this observation, we study the microstructure of hydrogen in two model networks of hydrogen-rich amorphous silicon with particular emphasis on the nature of the distribution (of hydrogen), the presence of defects and the characteristic features of the nuclear magnetic resonance spectra at low and high concentrations of hydrogen. Our study reveals the presence of vacancies, which are the built-in features of the model networks. The study also confirms the presence of various hydride configurations in the networks, from silicon monohydrides and dihydrides to open chain-like structures, that have been observed in the infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance experiments. The broad and the narrow line widths of the nuclear magnetic resonance spectra are calculated from a knowledge of the distribution of spins (hydrogen) in the networks.

Materials modeling by design: applications to amorphous solids

In this paper, we review a host of methods used to model amorphous materials. We particularly describe methods which impose constraints on the models to ensure that the final model meets a priori requirements (on structure, topology, chemical order, etc). In particular, we review work based on quench from the melt simulations, the 'decorate and relax' method, which is shown to be a reliable scheme for forming models of certain binary glasses. A 'building block' approach is also suggested and yields a pleading model for GeSe(1.5). We also report on the nature of vulcanization in an Se network cross-linked by As, and indicate how introducing H into an a-Si network develops into a-Si:H. We also discuss explicitly constrained methods including reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) and a novel method called 'Experimentally Constrained Molecular Relaxation'. The latter merges the power of ab initio simulation with the ability to impose external information associated with RMC.

Spin counting with fast MAS

A novel magic angle spinning (MAS) multiple-quantum spin counting experiment based on the C7 recoupling sequence of Lee et al. is described. In contrast to previous approaches the new experiment is applicable at fast MAS rates and can be used to follow the multiple-quantum excitation dynamics with fine time resolution. The new method is illustrated by experiments on adamantane at spinning speeds comparable to the nonspinning dipolar linewidth. The sizes of the clusters of dipolar-coupled spins measured using the new experiment are compared to those obtained using the original nonspinning spin counting technique of Baum et al. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

Multiple-quantum nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of coupled 1/2 spins in solids. Combination with cross-polarization and magic-angle spinning

Proton multiple-quantum coherence spectroscopy has been combined with magic-angle spinning (MAS) and cross-polarization (CP). This enables the detection of the proton (or any other abundant spin) multiple-quantum coherence spectrum via the high-resolution 13C (any other spin) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum. For this purpose multiple-quantum pulse sequences synchronised to sample rotation have been designed, and the average Hamiltonians of these sequences have been analysed. The analysis allows the design of optimal experimental conditions. As a demonstration of the technique, it has been applied to a mixture of adamantane and hexamethylethane. From earlier 13C spin diffusion experiments it was known that these two molecules form a mixed crystal. With our technique we detected two different phases with different molecular translational self-diffusion coefficients in this system.