We have investigated pulsed-field-gradient NMR techniques for measurements of time-dependent gas diffusion. The standard PGSE technique and variants, applied to a free gas mixture of thermally polarized xenon and 0-2, were found to provide a reproducible measure of the xenon diffusion coefficient (5.71 x 10(-6) m(2) s(-l) for I atm of pure xenon), in excellent agreement with previous, non-NMR measurements. The utility of pulsed-field-gradient NMR techniques was demonstrated by the first measurement of time-dependent (i.e., restricted) gas diffusion inside a porous medium (a random pack of glass beads), with results that agree well with theory. Two modified NMR pulse sequences derived from the PGSE technique (named the Pulsed Gradient Echo, or PGE, and the Pulsed Gradient Multiple Spin Echo, or PGMSE) were also applied to measurements of time dependent diffusion of laser polarized xenon gas, with results in good agreement with previous measurements on thermally polar ized gas. The PGMSE technique was found to be superior to the PGE method, and to standard PGSE techniques and variants, for efficiently measuring laser polarized noble gas diffusion over a wide range of diffusion times.
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