Dynamic nuclear polarisation-enhanced NMR spectroscopy for advanced materials understanding

魔角旋转（MAS）核磁共振波谱是化学、物理和材料科学中最通用和最广泛使用的技术，用于表征固体分子和材料的原子尺度结构及其动力学。然而，MAS NMR具有相对较低的接受度，通常需要非常长的实验时间，特别是对于非常低浓度的目标系统或检测固有不敏感的核自旋。解决这些问题的一个令人兴奋的方法是将高极化的电子自旋转移到低极化的核自旋，然后再检测它们。这个过程被称为动态核极化（DNP），可能提供多个数量级的信号增强，为先进材料表征开辟了巨大的机会。该博士研究生旨在通过探索新的实验方法来开发DNP MAS NMR光谱，使用广泛的易于获取的极化剂，并确定局部位置定向电子自旋标记的实验条件。这包括实验DNP MAS核磁共振测量和理解电子原子核自旋动力学。该项目将在分子和材料的结构确定方面提供新的研究前沿和改变游戏规则的能力。

Magic Angle Spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy is the most versatile and widely-used technique in the chemical, physical and material sciences for the characterisation of the atomic scale structure of solid molecules and materials, and their dynamics. However, MAS NMR suffers from a relatively low receptivity, often requiring prohibitively long experimental times, especially for targeted systems in very low concentrations or the detection of inherently insensitive nuclear spins. An exciting approach to tackling these issues consist of transferring the high polarisation of the electron spins to the low polarisation of the nuclear spins followed by their detection. This process is called Dynamic Nuclear Polarisation (DNP) and potentially affords signal enhancement of multiple orders of magnitude, opening tremendous opportunities for advanced materials characterisation.This PhD studentship aims at developing DNP MAS NMR spectroscopy by exploring new experimental methodologies using a wide range of easily accessible polarising agents and identifying experimental conditions for local site directed electron spin labelling. This includes experimental DNP MAS NMR measurements and understanding electron - nucleus spin dynamics. The project will deliver new research frontiers and game changing capabilities in structure determination of molecules and materials.