A paradigm shift in low-field NMR spectroscopy for industrial process monitoring, control, and optimisation

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We are all familiar with the concept of travel, and visiting York from Glasgow is conceptually a trial matter. When we reflect on this process, however, there are lots of potential questions we might ask about the mode of transport, the route and the potential to get lost. A similar range of questions could be asked about chemical reactions. We select starting materials and seek to transform them into products. The route we choose is equally complex. Now, however, the participants are much smaller and very special methods are needed to view them. Furthermore, with an optimal solution we get the most product from the least starting material using the least amount of energy and other resources as possible. If think of a reaction that is undertaken on the 1,000,000 tonne scale it is also clearly vital to minimise waste. In Chemistry, there is a very special and often expensive method called nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) that allows us to take pictures of the participants as they travel from starting materials to products. This methods is normally very insensitive and hence very expensive large magnets are required. If we want to use this technology to deliver clean and efficient chemistry on an industrial scale we need to find a way to work with smaller lower cost magnets, ideally using the Earth's magnetic field. In this project we aim to develop a new method using such low-magnetic field NMR devices to follow the route taken by molecules during their conversion into high value products in both laboratory and industrial settings. We will use a special form of hydrogen gas, known as parahydrogen to increase the sensitivity of the NMR measurement to a level that will allow to achieve this goal. Parahydrogen was actually the fuel of the space shuttle and one might view it here as acting like a molecular microscope whilst at the same time removing (filtering) any unwanted signals from spectators to the reaction of interest. We will build-up our understanding of the reactions route by taking our NMR pictures which contains precise information about the identity of the participants (molecules) at different times after the start of the reaction. This means that we will monitor the same process several times in order to produce the necessary molecular level picture that will ultimately allow us to optimise our chosen reaction. The enhanced level of information that will be provided by our new device will enable scientists and industrialists to develop and optimise reactions in a way that was previously impossible and hence contribute more positively to society.