Nuclear magnetic relaxation studies of semiconductor nanocrystals and solids

Abstract

Semiconductor nanocrystals, small biomolecules, and 13C enriched solids were studied through the relaxation in NMR spectra. Surface structure of semiconductor nanocrystals (CdS) was deduced from high resolution 1H and 13C liquid state spectra of thiophenol ligands on the nanocrystal surfaces. The surface coverage by thiophenol was found to be low, being 5.6 and 26% for nanocrystal radii of 11.8 and 19.2 Å. Internal motion is estimated to be slow with a correlation time > 10-8 s-1. The surface thiophenol ligands react to form a dithiophenol when the nanocrystals were subjected to O2 and ultraviolet. A method for measuring 14N-1H J-couplings is demonstrated on pyridine and the peptide oxytocin; selective 2D T1 and T2 experiments are presented for measuring relaxation times in crowded spectra with overlapping peaks in 1D, but relaxation effects interfere. Possibility of carbon-carbon cross relaxation in 13C enriched solids is demonstrated by experiments on zinc acetate and L-alanine.