Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

This is a request for funds to purchase a double-resonance NMR probe capable of spinning samples of solid materials at frequencies of 60 kHz or greater.  The probe will be designed to operate in an 11.75 T NMR system (500 MHz 1H NMR frequency) and will allow experimentalists at the University of Alberta to spin samples at frequencies approximately double those currently possible.  Ultra-fast spinning of solid samples about an axis inclined at 54.73561 degrees (the "magic-angle") with respect to the applied magnetic field will expand the capabilities of researchers considerably.  First, experiments involving paramagnetic systems will greatly benefit from the rapid sample spinning capabilities because fewer spinning side bands will result in less cluttered spectra.  Furthermore, the signal intensities that are normally distributed in the spinning sidebands will be concentrated in the "isotropic" NMR peak(s).  Second, the small radio-frequency coils used in ultra-fast NMR probes (diameter 1.3 mm) allow for better coupling of the radio-frequency pulses and the nuclear magnetic moments of the sample.  This leads to better 1H-decoupling efficiency and narrowing of "dilute-spin" NMR spectra.  Finally, for abundant spins (e.g., 1H) the resolution achieved via ultra-fast sample spinning is an effective alternative to homonuclear dipolar decoupling via tedious multipulse techniques.  Because of this "line-narrowing", many 2D techniques including indirect 1H-detection experiments become feasible.  The very recent solid-state NMR literature indicates that many new techniques and applications involving ultra-fast MAS are waiting to be discovered.