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T J Bonagamba

Publications and source records attributed to T J Bonagamba.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Analysis of one-dimensional pure-exchange NMR experiments for studying dynamics with broad distributions of correlation times.

One-dimensional (1D) exchange NMR experiments can elucidate the geometry, time scale, memory, and heterogeneity of slow molecular motions (1 ms-1 s) in solids. The one-dimensional version of pure-exchange (PUREX) solid-state exchange NMR, which is applied to static samples and uses the chemical shift anisotropy as a probe for molecular motion, is particularly promising and convenient in applications where site resolution is not a problem, i.e., in systems with few chemical sites. In this work, some important aspects of the 1D PUREX experiment applied to systems with complex molecular motions are analyzed. The influence of intermediate-regime (10 micros-1 ms) motions and of the distribution of reorientation angles on the pure-exchange intensity are discussed, together with a simple method for estimating the activation energy of motions occurring with a single correlation time. In addition, it is demonstrated that detailed information on the motional geometry can be obtained from 1D PUREX spectral line shapes. Experiments on a molecular crystal, dimethyl sulfone, confirm the analysis quantitatively. In two amorphous polymers, atactic polypropylene (aPP) and polyisobutylene (PIB), which differ only by one methyl group in the repeat unit, the height of the normalized exchange intensity clearly reveals a striking difference in the width of the distribution of correlation times slightly above the glass transition. The aPP shows the broad distribution and Williams-Landel-Ferry temperature dependence of correlation times typical of polymers and other "fragile" glass formers. In contrast, the dynamics in PIB occur essentially with a single correlation time and exhibits Arrhenius behavior, which is more typical of "strong" glass formers; this is somewhat surprising given the weak intermolecular forces in PIB.

Journal Article↗

Quantum logical operations for spin 3/2 quadrupolar nuclei monitored by quantum state tomography.

This article presents the realization of many self-reversible quantum logic gates using two-qubit quadrupolar spin 3/2 systems. Such operations are theoretically described using propagation matrices for the RF pulses that include the effect of the quadrupolar evolution during the pulses. Experimental demonstrations are performed using a generalized form of the recently developed method for quantum state tomography in spin 3/2 systems. By doing so, the possibility of controlling relative phases of superimposed pseudo-pure states is demonstrated. In addition, many aspects of the effect of the quadrupolar evolution, occurring during the RF pulses, on the quantum operations performance are discussed. Most of the procedures presented can be easily adapted to describe selective pulses of higher spin systems (>3/2) and for spin 1/2 under J couplings.

Journal Article↗

Slow-down of 13C spin diffusion in organic solids by fast MAS: a CODEX NMR Study.

One- and two-dimensional 13C exchange nuclear magnetic resonance experiments under magic-angle spinning (MAS) can provide detailed information on slow segmental reorientations and chemical exchange in organic solids, including polymers and proteins. However, observations of dynamics on the time scale of seconds or longer are hampered by the competing process of dipolar 13C spin exchange (spin diffusion). In this Communication, we show that fast MAS can significantly slow down the dipolar spin exchange effect for unprotonated carbon sites. The exchange is measured quantitatively using the centerband-only detection of exchange technique, which enables the detection of exchange at any spinning speed, even in the absence of changes of isotropic chemical shifts. For chemically equivalent unprotonated 13C sites, the dipolar spin exchange rate is found to decrease slightly less than proportionally with the sample-rotation frequency, between 8 and 28 kHz. In the same range, the dipolar spin exchange rate for a glassy polymer with an inhomogeneously broadened MAS line decreases by a factor of 10. For methylene groups, no or only a minor slow-down of the exchange rate is found.

Journal Article↗

Pure-exchange solid-state NMR.

Three exchange nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques are presented that yield (13)C NMR spectra exclusively of slowly reorienting segments, suppressing the often dominant signals of immobile components. The first technique eliminates the diagonal ridge that usually dominates two-dimensional (2D) exchange NMR spectra and that makes it hard to detect the broad and low off-diagonal exchange patterns. A modulation of the 2D exchange spectrum by the sine-square of a factor which is proportional to the difference between evolution and detection frequencies is generated by fixed additional evolution and detection periods of duration tau, yielding a 2D pure-exchange (PUREX) spectrum. Smooth off-diagonal intensity is obtained by systematically incrementing tau and summing up the resulting spectra. The related second technique yields a static one-dimensional (1D) spectrum selectively of the exchanging site(s), which can thus be identified. Efficient detection of previously almost unobservable slow motions in a semicrystalline polymer is demonstrated. The third approach, a 1D pure-exchange experiment under magic-angle spinning, is an extension of the exchange-induced sideband (EIS) method. A TOSS (total suppression of sidebands) spectrum obtained after the same number of pulses and delays, with a simple swap of z periods, is subtracted from the EIS spectrum, leaving only the exchange-induced sidebands and a strong, easily detected centerband of the mobile site(s).

Carbon Isotopes↗

Magnetic susceptibility effects on 13C MAS NMR spectra of carbon materials and graphite.

13C high-resolution solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) was employed to study carbon materials prepared through the thermal decomposition of four different organic precursors (rice hulls, endocarp of babassu coconut, peat, and PVC). For heat treatment temperatures (HTTs) above about 600 C, all materials presented 13C NMR spectra composed of a unique resonance line associated with carbon atoms in aromatic planes. With increasing HTT a continuous broadening of this resonance and a diamagnetic shift in its central frequency were verified for all samples. The evolution of the magnitude and anisotropy of the magnetic susceptibility of the heat-treated carbon samples with HTT explains well these findings. It is shown that these results are better understood when a comparison is made with the features of the 13C NMR spectrum of polycrystalline graphite, for which the magnetic susceptibility effect is also present and is much more pronounced.

Anisotropy↗