Solid-state NMR studies of inorganic and bioinorganic materials

我们的研究项目使用核磁共振(核磁共振)光谱来研究和了解固体材料的结构和性能。核磁共振依赖于与磁共振成像(MRI)相同的原理：在原子的中心放置着微小的磁铁(核自旋)，当放置在巨大的外部磁场中时，它会对射频脉冲做出反应。通过观察核自旋在这种情况下的行为，我们可以了解原子周围的分子和电子结构。我们专门研究了无机和生物无机固体中独特的成键环境中的原子。在渥太华，我们很幸运地拥有世界领先的900 MHz固态核磁共振光谱仪。这台光谱仪使我们能够分析传统的“难”元素，如氯。我们正在致力于固体氯核磁共振波谱的开发和应用，以提高我们对核磁共振相互作用的基本理解。我们还在探索氯离子固体核磁共振的几个实际应用。例如，我们感兴趣的是能够表征大型膜蛋白离子通道中的氯离子结合环境。为了能够做到这一点，我们需要从检查较小的多肽盐酸盐系统开始。另一个应用是研究氯化镁-氨络合物等储氢材料。我们打算应用氯、镁、氮和氢的核磁共振光谱来观察和更好地了解氨在这个和相关的无机体系中的吸收和解吸。我们研究计划的另一个方面需要描述重金属-重金属相互作用(例如，银-银相互作用)，以便更好地了解如何使用核磁共振光谱来探索未知结构的新材料中的这些相互作用。我们使用我们测量的核磁共振参数的量子化学计算来证实我们的实验结果，并提高我们对影响核磁共振观察值的结构因素的整体理解。

Our research program employs nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to study and understand the structure and properties of solid materials. NMR relies on the same principle as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): at the hearts of atoms lie tiny magnets ('nuclear spins') which, when placed in a large external magnetic field, respond to radiofrequency pulses. By observing how the nuclear spins behave under this situation, we can learn a great deal about the molecular and electronic structure surrounding the atom. We are specifically looking at atoms in unique bonding environments in inorganic and bioinorganic solids. In Ottawa we are fortunate to have access to a world-leading 900 MHz solid-state NMR spectrometer. This spectrometer allows us to analyze traditionally "difficult" elements such as chlorine. We are pursuing the development and application of chlorine NMR spectroscopy of solids in order to improve our fundamental understanding of NMR interactions. There are also several practical applications of chlorine solid-state NMR which we are pursuing. For example, we are interested in being able to characterize the chloride ion binding environments in large membrane protein ion channels. To be able to do this, we need to start by examining smaller peptide hydrochloride systems. Another application is in the study of hydrogen storage materials like magnesium chloride-ammonia complexes. We intend to apply chlorine, magnesium, nitrogen, and hydrogen NMR spectroscopy to observe and better understand the absorption and desorption of ammonia in this and related inorganic systems. Another aspect of our research program entails the characterization of heavy metal-heavy metal interactions (e.g., silver-silver interactions) in order to better understand how NMR spectroscopy can be used to probe for these interactions in new materials of unknown structure. We employ quantum chemical calculations of the NMR parameters we measure in order to corroborate our experimental findings, and improve our overall understanding of the structural factors which influence the NMR observables.