M. Bernardo

Pulsed electron-nuclear-electron triple resonance spectroscopy

Abstract A new experimental technique, pulsed electron-nuclear-electron triple resonance spectroscopy, is demonstrated. It is based on a modification of the pulse sequence for electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) in which two EPR and one NMR transition are irradiated. The irradiation of one EPR transition is detected via a second EPR transition. The nuclear hyperfine coupling, which separates these EPR transition frequencies, is the irradiated NMR transition. The major advantages of triple resonance spectroscopy include the ability to resolve overlapping nuclear resonances in the ENDOR spectrum and a more direct quantitative assignment of nuclear hyperfine and quadrupole couplings. The triple resonance experiment is an alternative to the recently proposed method of employing rapid magnetic field jumps between microwave pulses for generating hyperfine selective ENDOR spectra.

Studies of Fe(III) incorporated into AlPO4‐20 by X‐ and W‐band EPR spectroscopies

The incorporation of Fe(III), during the synthesis, into aluminosilicate sodalite (FeSOD) and aluminophosphate sodalite, AlPO4‐20 (FAPO), was investigated by continuous wave (CW) and pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) techniques at X‐ and W‐band. Specifically, the effect of the framework composition and the presence of occluded template molecules (tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide, TMAOH) in the β cages on the distribution of the Fe(III) species was explored. The X‐band CW EPR spectrum of FAPO shows the existence of two types of species, one with a large (g ≈ 6.3,4) and the other with a small (g ≈ 2) zero field splitting (ZFS) interaction. These species were also found in FeSOD synthesized with TMAOH. The X‐band field‐sweep echo‐detected (FS‐ED) EPR spectrum shows contributions only from the Fe(III) species in the more symmetric environment (g ≈ 2). The other was not detected due to fast relaxation. This spectrum is very broad and suffers from distortions due to the nuclear modulation effect. In contrast, the W‐band FS‐ED EPR spectrum of the same species was significantly narrower and free from distortions. Analysis of the temperature dependence of the width and relative intensity of the peak corresponding to the |−½ 〉 → | +½ 〉 EPR transition shows that the g ≈ 2 signal arises from a number of Fe(III) species with a distribution of ZFS parameters. Calcination significantly reduces the ZFS parameter, D, suggesting that the distortions of the T sites are due to specific interactions with the template. Electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) experiments shows the presence of weak dipolar interaction between Fe(III) and template 14N and 1H template nuclei, as well as framework 27Al and 31P nuclei. This indicates that the species characterized by small ZFS are well dispersed and are located within the inner structure of the zeolite. These g≈ 2 species are most probably Fe(III) in framework sites. A small fraction that occupies highly asymmetric sites (g ≈ 6.3,4), situated at ‘defect’ framework or extraframework sites, and some Fe(II) produced due to the reduction of Fe(III) by the organic template (detected by Mössbauer spectroscopy), were found as well. The possible presence of some extraframework Fe(III) with a g ≈ 2 signal cannot be excluded. Copyright

Internal magnetic gradient fields in glass bead packs from numerical simulations and constant time diffusion spin echo measurements.

Internal magnetic field gradients in water saturated glass bead packs were studied by numerical simulations and a constant time spin echo (CTSE) experiment. The CTSE is comprised of two spin echo refocusing periods where each of the two evolution periods, tau1 and tau2, is varied so that the total evolution, 2(tau1 + tau2), is held constant. The experiment is similar to that introduced by Norwood and Quilter and allows the effects of dephasing due to diffusion in a magnetic field gradient to be separated from other relaxation mechanisms. In our experiments, the magnetic susceptibility difference between the pore fluid and glass beads creates the internal field gradient. CTSE measurements were performed at 7 T (300 MHz 1H) for water saturated in 50 microm diameter glass bead pack. We find that the internal gradients in the center of the pore bodies, where free diffusion applies, is in the range of 10 to 100 G/cm. This fluid volume accounts for < or =10% of the total pore volume. From direct numerical simulations of the internal magnetic field based on a first principles calculation, we find that the major fraction, >90%, of the pore volume has internal gradients of order 500 to 5,000 G/cm. Signals from water in these large gradients is not observed in our CTSE measurements.

Electric field driven flow in natural porous media.

Electric fields were applied to fluid-saturated packed sand beds (0.23+/-0.03 mm average pore diameter), and the effects on the mobility of the water molecules were monitored using stimulated echo (STE) and pulsed field gradient (PFG) experiments. The mean flow velocity, averaged over the entire sample, is expected to vanish in closed systems, but the PFG and time dependent signal decay was enhanced beyond the effects of thermal diffusion, due to velocity dispersion. The internal flow generated by the electric field was shown to be fully time-reversible upon inverting the electric field polarity (for total flow times of up to 0.4s), a strong indication that the NMR detected displacements were mainly due to electro-osmotic flow (EOF). However, a comparison of the velocity dispersion for different electrolyte concentrations showed that the measured effect scaled with the applied power VI (V = voltage, I = electric current), rather than with the voltage alone, contrary to the prediction of the basic model for EOF in a single capillary channel.