Advanced solid-state NMR strategies for zeolite characterization

Solid-state NMR can provide detailed understanding of the complexity and local structure of zeolites (i.e. porous aluminosilicates). Such insight is essential to provoke progress in the world of heterogeneous catalysis, which is dominated by zeolites. Thorough NMR characterization of silicates is however typically hampered by the low abundance of the NMR active 29Si nuclei and their long spin-lattice relaxation times. This causes 29Si NMR measurements to be tediously long.

The primary focus of this project is to accelerate 29Si NMR by implementing and developing advanced acquisition schemes. Full advantage will be taken from the top-of-the-world instrumental set-up accessible at COKKAT. The 6 irradiation and 4 receiver channels will be exploited for the simultaneous acquisition of 1H, 29Si and 27Al NMR, considerably reducing measurement times. The set-up also allows to explore multi-dimensional NMR with homo- and heteronuclear correlations. Combining the results of these advanced NMR experiments has the potential to provide an updated view on local structuring in zeolites.