In this Faculty Early Career Development Award funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program in the Chemistry Division, Lucio Frydman of the University of Illinois at Chicago will develop and apply new multidimensional NMR techniques to the analysis of complex solids. These new techniques will rely on non-Cartesian sampling of time-domain spaces which will shorten the duration of multidimensional NMR acquisitions and establish new correlations between spin interactions. These experiments will also focus on new methods of characterization of quadrupolar spins, which comprise a large majority of nuclides which play a key role in the structures of inorganic solid materials. The techniques will be applied to characterization of high performance ceramics used in the aerospace industry. The educational component of this program involves integrating state-of-the-art NMR analysis techniques into the undergraduate curriculum and establishing new courses in the graduate Analytical Chemistry program aimed at providing students with a practical background currently demanded by industry. NMR has proven to be a reliable and powerful diagnostic technique in the biomedical profession. Similar analysis of solids cannot currently be accomplished due to the different physical interactions in the solid phase. Professor Frydman will develop techniques that will permit characterization of solid materials such as high temperature ceramic fibers used in the aerospace industry.
