Veronika Vitzthum

Surface Enhanced NMR Spectroscopy by Dynamic Nuclear Polarization

It is shown that surface NMR spectra can be greatly enhanced using dynamic nuclear polarization. Polarization is transferred from the protons of the solvent to the rare nuclei (here carbon-13 at natural isotopic abundance) at the surface, yielding at least a 50-fold signal enhancement for surface species covalently incorporated into a silica framework.

Fast Characterization of Functionalized Silica Materials by Silicon-29 Surface-Enhanced NMR Spectroscopy Using Dynamic Nuclear Polarization

We demonstrate fast characterization of the distribution of surface bonding modes and interactions in a series of functionalized materials via surface-enhanced nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy using dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP). Surface-enhanced silicon-29 DNP NMR spectra were obtained by using incipient wetness impregnation of the sample with a solution containing a polarizing radical (TOTAPOL). We identify and compare the bonding topology of functional groups in materials obtained via a sol-gel process and in materials prepared by post-grafting reactions. Furthermore, the remarkable gain in time provided by surface-enhanced silicon-29 DNP NMR spectroscopy (typically on the order of a factor 400) allows the facile acquisition of two-dimensional correlation spectra.

Dynamic nuclear polarization of quadrupolar nuclei using cross polarization from protons: surface-enhanced aluminium-27 NMR

The surface of γ-alumina nanoparticles can be characterized by dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) surface-enhanced NMR of (27)Al. DNP is combined with cross-polarization and MQ-MAS to determine local symmetries of (27)Al sites at the surface.

Fractional Spin‐Labeling of Polymers for Enhancing NMR Sensitivity by Solvent‐Free Dynamic Nuclear Polarization

Keywords: cross polarization ; dynamic nuclear polarization ; magic angle spinning ; NMR spectroscopy ; peptides ; Range Structural Restraints ; Solid-State Nmr ; Proteins ; Spectroscopy Reference EPFL-ARTICLE-170435doi:10.1002/cphc.201100630View record in Web of Science Record created on 2011-11-29, modified on 2017-05-12

Analysis of sensitivity enhancement by dynamic nuclear polarization in solid-state NMR: a case study of functionalized mesoporous materials

We systematically studied the enhancement factor (per scan) and the sensitivity enhancement (per unit time) in (13)C and (29)Si cross-polarization magic angle spinning (CP-MAS) NMR boosted by dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) of functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs). Specifically, we separated contributions due to: (i) microwave irradiation, (ii) quenching by paramagnetic effects, (iii) the presence of frozen solvent, (iv) the temperature, as well as changes in (v) relaxation and (vi) cross-polarization behaviour. No line-broadening effects were observed for MSNs when lowering the temperature from 300 to 100 K. Notwithstanding a significant signal reduction due to quenching by TOTAPOL radicals, DNP-CP-MAS at 100 K provided global sensitivity enhancements of 23 and 45 for (13)C and (29)Si, respectively, relative to standard CP-MAS measurements at room temperature. The effects of DNP were also ascertained by comparing with state-of-the-art two-dimensional heteronuclear (1)H{(13)C} and (29)Si{(1)H} correlation spectra, using, respectively, indirect detection or Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) refocusing to boost signal acquisition. This study highlights opportunities for further improvements through the development of high-field DNP, better polarizing agents, and improved capabilities for low-temperature MAS.

Solid-state nitrogen-14 nuclear magnetic resonance enhanced by dynamic nuclear polarization using a gyrotron

By combining indirect detection of 14N with dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) using a gyrotron, the signal-to-noise ratio can be dramatically improved and the recovery delay between subsequent experiments can be shortened. Spectra of glassy samples of the amino acid proline doped with the stable bi-radical TOTAPOL rotating at 15.625 kHz at 110K were obtained in a 400 MHz solid-state NMR spectrometer equipped with a gyrotron for microwave irradiation at 263 GHz. DNP enhancement factors on the order of epsilon approximately 40 were achieved. The recovery delays can be reduced from 60 s without radicals at 300 K to 6 s with radicals at 110 K. In the absence of radicals at room temperature, the proton relaxation in proline is inefficient due to the absence of rotating methyl groups and other heat sinks, thus making long recovery delays mandatory. DNP allows one to reduce the acquisition times of 13C-detected 14N spectra from several days to a few hours.

A spinning thermometer to monitor microwave heating and glass transitions in dynamic nuclear polarization

As previously demonstrated by Thurber and Tycko, the peak position of 79Br in potassium bromide (KBr) allows one to determine the temperature of a spinning sample. We propose to adapt the original design by using a compact KBr tablet placed at the bottom of the magic angle spinning rotor, separated from the sample under investigation by a thin disk made of polytetrafluoroethylene (or ‘Teflon’®). This design allows spinning the sample up to at least 16 kHz. The KBr tablet can remain in the rotor when changing the sample under investigation. Calibration in the range of 98 < T < 320 K has been carried out in a static rotor by inserting a platinum thermometer. The accuracy is better than ± 0.9 K, even in the presence of microwave irradiation. Irradiation with 5 W microwaves at 263 GHz leads to a small temperature increase of 3.6 ± 1.4 K in either static or spinning samples. The dynamic nuclear polarization enhancement decreases with increasing temperature, in particular when a frozen glassy sample undergoes a glass transition. Copyright