In this project supported by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Gullion will develop a high-resolution magic-angle spinning NMR technique which allows measurement of internuclear distances between dipolar and quadrupolar nuclei. Specifically tailored pulse trains synchronized with the sample rotation will recouple the dipolar interactions between the desired spin pairs, providing structural information of complex solids in a straightforward manner. The first applications will be to the interactions between bound water and cellulose as well as to a polymer blend of cellulose with polyacrylonitrile. These experiments will fill a void in MAS NMR distance-measuring techniques. Solid-state NMR techniques similar to those being developed in this work have been applied to a number of interesting chemical systems, including biological solids, zeolites, and polymers. As such, they demonstrate the importance and wide applicability of these structural techniques to such diverse areas as materials science, structural biology, and the study of catalytic systems.
