Dr. Daniel P. Weitekamp is supported by a grant from The Experimental Physical Chemistry Program to study spin-symmetry isomers of hydrogen by nuclear magnetic resonance. Instrumentation will be developed to achieve greatly enhanced magnetic resonance sensitivity in order that the reaction details of catalytic processes, such as those involving petroleum cracking and polymer manufacture, can be more clearly elucidated. The technical and conceptual developments under this study have broader significance than the particular systems to be examined here and will be relevant to any technology based on the transformation of hydrogen. The ability to supply a rapidly cycled, high-sensitivity spin label in the form of parahydrogen creates new possibilities for the NMR probe as a reactor. Two-dimensional experiments are proposed in which the NMR signal of the product molecules reports on the spectrum of the reaction intermediates.
