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1. Zero-field nuclear magnetic resonance of chemically exchanging systems

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10787-9  

   Barskiy, Danila A. ; Tayler, Michael C. D. ; Marco-Rius, Irene ; Kurhanewicz, John ; Vigneron, Daniel B. ; Cikrikci, Sevil ; Aydogdu, Ayca ; Reh, Moritz ; Pravdivtsev, Andrey N. ; Hövener, Jan-Bernd ; et al ( July 2019 , Nature Communications)

   Zero- to ultralow-field (ZULF) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is an emerging tool for precision chemical analysis. In this work, we study dynamic processes and investigate the influence of chemical exchange on ZULF NMRJ-spectra. We develop a computational approach that allows quantitative calculation ofJ-spectra in the presence of chemical exchange and apply it to study aqueous solutions of [¹⁵N]ammonium (¹⁵N$${\mathrm{H}}_4^ +$$$H_4^{+}$) as a model system. We show that pH-dependent chemical exchange substantially affects theJ-spectra and, in some cases, can lead to degradation and complete disappearance of the spectral features. To demonstrate potential applications of ZULF NMR for chemistry and biomedicine, we show a ZULF NMR spectrum of [2-¹³C]pyruvic acid hyperpolarized via dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (dDNP). We foresee applications of affordable and scalable ZULF NMR coupled with hyperpolarization to study chemical exchange phenomena in vivo and in situations where high-field NMR detection is not possible to implement.
2. Crystal-field excitations and quadrupolar fluctuations of 4f-electron systems studied by polarized light scattering

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2164/1/012054  

   Ye, M ; Kung, H H ; Rosa, P F ; Rosenberg, E ; Kim, J ; Xu, X H ; Bauer, E D ; Fisk, Z ; Fisher, I R ; Cheong, S W ; et al ( March 2022 , Journal of Physics: Conference Series)

   Abstract We present Raman-scattering results for three materials, CeB 6 , TbInO 3 , and YbRu 2 Ge 2 , to illustrate the essential aspects of crystal-field (CF) excitations and quadrupolar fluctuations of 4 f -electron systems. For CF excitations, we illustrate how the 4 f orbits are split by spin-orbit coupling and CF potential by presenting spectra for inter- and intra-multiplet excitations over a large energy range. We discuss identification of the CF ground state and establishment of low-energy CF level scheme from the symmetry and energy of measured CF excitations. In addition, we demonstrate that the CF linewidth is a sensitive probe of electron correlation by virtue of self-energy effect. For quadrupolar fluctuations, we discuss both ferroquadrupolar (FQ) and antiferroquadrupolar (AFQ) cases. Long-wavelength quadrupolar fluctuations of the same symmetry as the FQ order parameter persists well above the transition temperature, from which the strength of electronic intersite quadrupolar interaction can be evaluated. The tendency towards AFQ ordering induces ferromagnetic correlation between neighboring 4 f -ion sites, leading to long-wavelength magnetic fluctuations.
3. Enhancing the resolution of ¹ H and ¹³ C solid-state NMR spectra by reduction of anisotropic bulk magnetic susceptibility broadening

   https://doi.org/10.1039/C7CP04223J  

   Hanrahan, Michael P. ; Venkatesh, Amrit ; Carnahan, Scott L. ; Calahan, Julie L. ; Lubach, Joseph W. ; Munson, Eric J. ; Rossini, Aaron J. ( January 2017 , Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys.)

   We demonstrate that natural isotopic abundance 2D heteronuclear correlation (HETCOR) solid-state NMR spectra can be used to significantly reduce or eliminate the broadening of 1 H and 13 C solid-state NMR spectra of organic solids due to anisotropic bulk magnetic susceptibility (ABMS). ABMS often manifests in solids with aromatic groups, such as active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), and inhomogeneously broadens the NMR peaks of all nuclei in the sample. Inhomogeneous peaks with full widths at half maximum (FWHM) of ∼1 ppm typically result from ABMS broadening and the low spectral resolution impedes the analysis of solid-state NMR spectra. ABMS broadening of solid-state NMR spectra has previously been eliminated using 2D multiple-quantum correlation experiments, or by performing NMR experiments on diluted materials or single crystals. However, these experiments are often infeasible due to their poor sensitivity and/or provide limited gains in resolution. 2D 1 H– 13 C HETCOR experiments have previously been applied to reduce susceptibility broadening in paramagnetic solids and we show that this strategy can significantly reduce ABMS broadening in diamagnetic organic solids. Comparisons of 1D solid-state NMR spectra and 1 H and 13 C solid-state NMR spectra obtained from 2D 1 H– 13 C HETCOR NMR spectra show thatmore »the HETCOR spectrum directly increases resolution by a factor of 1.5 to 8. The direct gain in resolution is determined by the ratio of the inhomogeneous 13 C/ 1 H linewidth to the homogeneous 1 H linewidth, with the former depending on the magnitude of the ABMS broadening and the strength of the applied field and the latter on the efficiency of homonuclear decoupling. The direct gains in resolution obtained using the 2D HETCOR experiments are better than that obtained by dilution. For solids with long proton longitudinal relaxation times, dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) was applied to enhance sensitivity and enable the acquisition of 2D 1 H– 13 C HETCOR NMR spectra. 2D 1 H– 13 C HETCOR experiments were applied to resolve and partially assign the NMR signals of the form I and form II polymorphs of aspirin in a sample containing both forms. These findings have important implications for ultra-high field NMR experiments, optimization of decoupling schemes and assessment of the fundamental limits on the resolution of solid-state NMR spectra.« less
4. Comment on “Chirality-Induced Electron Spin Polarization and Enantiospecific Response in Solid-State Cross-Polarization Nuclear Magnetic Resonance”

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.9b00221  

   Venkatesh, A. ; Wijesekara, Anuradha V. ; O'Dell, Luke A. ; Rossini, Aaron J. ( May 2019 , ACS nano)

   Recently, Santos et al. published an article titled “Chirality-Induced Electron Spin Polarization and Enantiospecific Response in Solid-State Cross-Polarization Nuclear Magnetic Resonance” in ACS Nano. In this article it was claimed that crystalline amino acid enantiomers can give rise to 1H-15N and 1H-13C cross-polarization magic angle spinning (CPMAS) solid-state NMR spectra with different relative signal intensities. The authors attributed such differences to transient changes in T1 relaxation times resulting from an interaction between the electron spins and the radiofrequency contact pulses used in the CPMAS experiment, and discussed this proposed phenomenon in terms of the chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect. We disagree with the authors conclusion that the CISS effect plays a role in the different signal intensities observed in the CPMAS solid-state NMR spectra of crystalline enantiomers. Quantitative 13C CPMAS experiments on aspartic acid enantiomers demonstrate that CPMAS signal variations can likely be attributed to sample dependent differences in T1 relaxation times rather than any chirality effects.
5. 4,6-O-Phenylethylidene Acetal Protected D-Glucosamine Carbamate-Based Gelators and Their Applications for Multi-Component Gels

   https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8030191  

   Sharma, Pooja ; Wang, Guijun ( March 2022 , Gels)

   The self-assembly of carbohydrate-based low molecular weight gelators has led to useful advanced soft materials. The interactions of the gelators with various cations and anions are important in creating novel molecular architectures and expanding the scope of the small molecular gelators. In this study, a series of thirteen new C-2 carbamates of the 4,6-O-phenylethylidene acetal-protected D-glucosamine derivatives has been synthesized and characterized. These compounds are rationally designed from a common sugar template. All carbamates synthesized were found to be efficient gelators and three compounds are also hydrogelators. The resulting gels were characterized using optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and rheology. The gelation mechanisms were further elucidated using 1H NMR spectroscopy at different temperatures. The isopropyl carbamate hydrogelator 7 formed hydrogels at 0.2 wt% and also formed gels with several tetra alkyl ammonium salts, and showed effectiveness in the creation of gel electrolytes. The formation of metallogels using earth-abundant metal ions such as copper, nickel, iron, zinc, as well as silver and lead salts was evaluated for a few gelators. Using chemiluminescence spectroscopy, the metal–organic xerogels showed enzyme-like properties and enhanced luminescence for luminol. In addition, we also studied the applications of several gels for drug immobilizations and the gels showedmore »sustained release of naproxen from the gel matrices. This robust sugar carbamate-derived gelator system can be used as the scaffold for the design of other functional materials with various types of applications.« less