Observable effects of mechanical stress induced by sample spinning in solid state nuclear magnetic resonance.

The stress-induced change in chemical shielding induced by sample spinning is measured and interpreted theoretically. By considering the rotating sample as an elastic body in the plane-strain approximation, the internal stress field as a function of sample size, rotation frequency, and elastic constants is determined. This stress field and the dependence of chemical shielding on strain, as determined by first-principles calculations, are combined to predict the shielding dependence on rotation frequency under isothermal conditions in single crystal gallium phosphide. The prediction is in good qualitative agreement with the experiment. Little to no effect is detected in powder samples of both gallium phosphide and copper iodide, and it is argued that this follows from the stress distribution in granular material, as opposed to bulk crystals. Finally, the temperature and pressure dependence of the chemical shielding is estimated from these considerations and found consistently to underestimate the experimental values, indicating the importance of finite-temperature anharmonic effects even in very simple solids.

Preferential binding of fluorine to aluminum in high peralkaline aluminosilicate glasses.

For two series of fluoride-containing aluminosilicate glasses of high peralkaline type, we apply 27Al, 19F, 29Si, and 23Na NMR spectroscopy to understand the structural changes introduced by the addition of alkali fluorides. Adding fluoride in concentrations above the solubility limit causes crystallization of different phases in sodium and potassium glasses despite identical composition. However, the NMR spectra reveal that the structural evolution of the precrystallized states is similar in both series. In particular, fluorine coordinates exclusively to alkaline cations and aluminum. No indication of direct bonding with silicon was found from 19F --> 29Si cross-polarization experiments. In contrast to other glass systems, double resonance experiments in these peralkaline systems show that halide addition produces at most a minor fraction of tetrahedral aluminum containing fluorine in its coordination sphere. Instead, the fluorine addition prior to crystallization converts up to about 20% of the initial tetrahedral aluminum (1 mol % in absolute units) to 5- and 6-fold coordinated aluminum. A minor portion of five-coordinated aluminum groups is considered as the intermediate to the growing fraction of octahedral aluminum in the silicate matrix. The initialization of the crystallization process is correlated with the saturation of the silicate matrix by octahedral aluminum clusters segregating out under further doping by fluoride. It is suggested that the formation of the nonframework Al-F bonds is responsible for structural relaxation, reflected by the reduction of the glass transition temperature.

A neutron scattering and nuclear magnetic resonance study of the structure of GeO2-P2O5 glasses.

Germanophosphate (GeO2-P2O5) glasses were studied with neutron diffraction, phosphorus, and oxygen nuclear magnetic resonance, calorimetry, viscosity measurements, and first-principles calculations. These data sets were combined to propose a structural model of GeO2-P2O5 glasses, which includes tetrahedrally coordinated phosphorus, formation of octahedrally coordinated germanium as P2O5 content increases, an absence of trigonally coordinated oxygen, and hence an absence of rutile-like GeO2 domains. The structural model was then used to propose explanations for both the observed composition dependence of the glass transition temperature and the fragility of the GeO2-P2O5 liquids.

Stress, strain, and NMR.

Experimental and ab initio results that demonstrate the effect of stress on the nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of materials are shown. The design of a cell that generates uniaxial compressive stress is presented, and results on gallium phosphide and lead nitrate single crystals that illustrate the observable results of the stress are shown. Tensors that relate stress and strain to changes in the chemical shielding tensors and the electric field gradient tensors are defined formally. The elements of these tensors are then computed by a density functional theory approach that makes use of planewaves and pseudopotentials. The experimental results are interpreted with the aid of the calculations. Extensions to spinning samples and to the interpretation of optical phenomena in materials are discussed.

On the spectral similarity of bridging and nonbridging oxygen in tellurites.

We show by high field (17)O solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and by ab initio calculations of both the NMR and the oxygen 1s photoelectron spectra that the oxygen sites in tellurite glasses show no spectroscopic distinction, even when comparing bridging and nonbridging sites. This is remarkable because two such sites differ formally by a full electronic charge, and they are readily distinguished by these same methods in silicates. We argue that this similarity arises from the symmetry breaking that occurs when the original TeO(2) crystal solid forms, due to the pseudo-Jahn-Teller distortion induced by the two additional valence electrons present in Te(IV) as compared to Si(IV).

Anisotropy-correlated spectroscopy of quadrupolar nuclei.

The two-dimensional anisotropy-correlated NMR (2DAC) spectra of half-integer quadrupolar nuclei may be recorded by using an exchange sequence in conjunction with magic angle spinning (MAS) during evolution and detection, and off-MAS during mixing. Application of this experiment to boron oxides is described, in addition to an analysis of the spin diffusion rates in such materials.

Mass spectrometric analysis of benzoylated sialooligosaccharides and differentiation of terminal alpha 2-->3 and alpha 2-->6 sialogalactosylated linkages at subpicomole levels.

Perbenzoylated sialooligosaccharides were found to be stable derivatives, giving intense signals during the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometric analysis in the positive-ion mode. Terminal Neu5NAc alpha 2-->3 and alpha 2-->6Gal units of oligosaccharides undergo characteristic structural changes during benzoylation, yielding easily recognizable mass spectral patterns. Subpicomole carbohydrate samples were successfully benzoylated and analyzed through MALDI mass spectrometry.