Solid-State NMR: Basic Principles and Practice

The power of nuclear magnetic resonance, NMR, for characterizing molecules dissolved in solution is widely acknowledged. However, the application of NMR to the solid state is much less well appreciated. This book sets out the fundamental principles of solid-state NMR, explaining how NMR in solids differs from that in solution, and showing how the various interactions of NMR can be manipulated to yield high-resolution spectra and to give information on local structure and dynamics in solids.

Solid State NMR aims to take some of the mystique out of solid-state NMR by providing a comprehensible discussion of the methodology involved, including the basic concepts and practical guidance on the implementation of the experiments. A basic knowledge of solution-state NMR is assumed and is only briefly covered.

This book will be a valuable introduction and reference both for students and practicing scientists, as well as for non-experts interested in learning how NMR can be usefully applied to solid systems. Detailed mathematical treatments are delayed to a chapter at the mid-point of the text and can be skipped. Introductions to experiments and numerical simulations are provided to help link NMR results to experimental practice.

The different aspects of solid-state NMR, from basic pulse-and-acquire experiments to sophisticated techniques for the measurement of anisotropy information are presented, with examples chosen to illustrate the wide variety of applications of the technique, as well as its complementarity to other solid-state characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction. Various aspects of NMR crystallography are covered as are topics of motion in solids.

David C. Apperley studied chemistry at the University of East Anglia, Norwich and gained a PhD for studies of dipolar coupling in solids from the Open University, Milton Keynes in 1986. Robin K. Harris is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Durham, U.K., where he previously served as Professor of Chemistry, head of the Physical and Theoretical Chemistry section, and Chairman of the Chemistry Department. Paul Hodgkinson studied chemistry at Queen s College, Oxford, completing his PhD in 1995 on the sampling of NMR data.