The research project will focus on the development of experimental techniques for studying nuclear spin relaxation behavior and molecular motion in solid materials of chemical, biological, and technological interest. The main tool of investigation is deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), where spin relaxation and lineshape analysis have proven to be extremely powerful techniques for elucidating motion in solids on timescales ranging from microseconds to picoseconds. One aim of the proposed work is to extend the range of systems amenable to slow motion analysis and to invent pulse sequences which are routinely applicable by nonspecialists. A second project involves using molecular dynamics simulations in new ways to interpret spin relaxation data. If successful, this project may provide a new and general method of matching the optimal simulation procedure to the dynamic process of greatest experimental relevance.
