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The 31P chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) offers a potential source of new information to help determine the structures of aluminophosphate (AlPO) framework materials. We investigate how to measure the CSAs, which are small (span of ~20–30 ppm) for AlPOs, demonstrating the need for CSA‐amplification experiments (often in conjunction with 27Al and/or 1H decoupling) at high magnetic field (20.0 T) to obtain accurate values. We show that the most shielded component of the chemical shift tensor, δ33, is related to the length of the shortest P─O bond, whereas the more deshielded components, δ11 and δ22 can be related more readily to the mean P─O bond lengths and P─O─Al angles. Using the case of Mg‐doped STA‐2 as an example, the CSA is shown to be much larger for P(OAl)4–n(OMg)n environments, primarily owing to a much shorter P─O(Mg) bond affecting δ33, however, because the mean P─O bond lengths and P─O─T (T = Al, Mg) bond angles do not change significantly between P(OAl)4 and P(OAl)4–n(OMg)n sites, the isotropic chemical shifts for these species are similar, leading to overlapped spectral lines. When the CSA information is included, spectral assignment becomes unambiguous, therefore, although the specialist conditions required might preclude the routine measurement of 31P CSAs in AlPOs, in some cases (particularly doped materials), the experiments can still provide valuable additional information for spectral assignment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the solid state is typically characterised by inherent periodicity, many interesting physical and chemical properties of solids arise from a variation in this, i.e. changes in the nature of the atom occupying a particular site in a crystal structure or variation in the position of an atom (or group of atoms) in different parts of a structure, or variation as a function of time. This lack of long-range order poses significant challenges, not just for the characterisation of the structure of disordered materials, but also simply for its description. The sensitivity of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to the local, atomic-scale environment, without the requirement for long-range order, makes it a powerful tool for the study of disorder in the solid state. Information on the number and type(s) of coordinating atoms or through-space and through-bond connectivity between atomic species enables the construction of a detailed picture of the structure. After a brief description of the background theory of NMR spectroscopy, and the experimental methods employed, we will describe the effects of disorder on NMR spectra and the use of calculations to help interpret experimental measurements. We will then review a range of applications to different types of disordered materials, including oxides and ceramics, minerals, porous materials, biomaterials, energy materials, pharmaceuticals, polymers and glasses. We will discuss the most successful approaches for studying different materials, and illustrate the type of information available and the structural insight gained. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]