Slice selection in solids by localized double-quantum coherence transfer

Abstract

Double-quantum heteronuclear coherence transfer in solids shows a strong spatial dependence when performed in the presence of a magnetic field gradient. This is a direct consequence of the off-resonance sensitivity of the coherence transfer process and represents a new principle for localized NMR spectroscopy of quadrupole nuclei in solids. Since the slice-selective excitation is achieved simultaneously to the cross-polarization, the suggested pulse sequences avoid the use of shaped pulses, the application of which is problematic in solids. In the present work, the localization efficiency of this new slice-selection principle was analyzed in dependence on the experimental parameters for a spin system consisting of abundant spin-1/2 and rare spin-1 nuclei. The resulting slice profiles and the calculated dependences of the slice thickness for the basic coherence transfer procedures are discussed on the example of1H−2H in monodeuterated benzene. The proposed method opens the possibility of volume-selective investigations of the structure and dynamics of materials using the well-established methodology of deuteron-NMR spectroscopy.