Solid effect DNP polarization dynamics in a system of many spins

Abstract

We discuss the polarization dynamics during solid effect dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) in a central spin model that consists of an electron surrounded by many nuclei. To this end we use a recently developed formalism and validate first its performance by comparing its predictions to results obtained by solving the Liouville von Neumann master equation. The use of a Monte Carlo method in our formalism makes it possible to significantly increase the number of spins considered in the model system. We then analyse the dependence of the nuclear bulk polarization on the presence of nuclei in the vicinity of the electron and demonstrate that increasing the minimal distance between nuclei and electrons leads to a rise of the nuclear bulk polarization. These observations have implications for the design of radicals that can lead to improved values of nuclear spin polarization. Furthermore, we discuss the potential to extend our formalism to more complex spin systems such as cross effect DNP.