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Gallia–alumina (Ga,Al)2O3(x : y) spinel-type solid solution nanoparticle catalysts for propane dehydrogenation (PDH) were prepared with four nominal Ga : Al atomic ratios (1 : 6, 1 : 3, 3 : 1, 1 : 0) using a colloidal synthesis approach. The structure, coordination environment and distribution of Ga and Al sites in these materials were investigated by X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (Ga K-edge) as well as 27Al and 71Ga solid state nuclear magnetic resonance. The surface acidity (Lewis or Brønsted) was probed using infrared spectroscopy with pyridine and 2,6-dimethylpyridine probe molecules, complemented by element-specific insights (Ga or Al) from dynamic nuclear polarization surface enhanced cross-polarization magic angle spinning 15N{27Al} and 15N{71Ga} J coupling mediated heteronuclear multiple quantum correlation NMR experiments using 15N-labelled pyridine as a probe molecule. The latter approach provides unique insights into the nature and relative strength of the surface acid sites as it allows to distinguish contributions from Al and Ga sites to the overall surface acidity of mixed (Ga,Al)2O3 oxides. Notably, we demonstrate that (Ga,Al)2O3 catalysts with a high Al content show a greater relative abundance of four-coordinated Ga sites and a greater relative fraction of weak/medium Ga-based surface Lewis acid sites, which correlates with superior propene selectivity, Ga-based activity, and stability in PDH (due to lower coking). In contrast, (Ga,Al)2O3 catalysts with a lower Al content feature a higher fraction of six-coordinated Ga sites, as well as more abundant Ga-based strong surface Lewis acid sites, which deactivate through coking. Overall, the results show that the relative abundance and strength of Ga-based surface Lewis acid sites can be tuned by optimizing the bulk Ga : Al atomic ratio, thus providing an effective measure for a rational control of the catalyst performance., Coordination geometry and Lewis acidity of Ga and Al (bulk and surface) sites in mixed oxide gallia–alumina nanoparticles is correlated with the performance in propane dehydrogenation.

The molecular level characterization of heterogeneous catalysts is challenging due to the low concentration of surface sites and the lack of techniques that can selectively probe the surface of a heterogeneous material. Here, we report the joint application of room temperature proton-detected NMR spectroscopy under fast magic angle spinning (MAS) and dynamic nuclear polarization surface enhanced NMR spectroscopy (DNP-SENS), to obtain the 195Pt solid-state NMR spectra of a prototypical example of highly dispersed Pt sites (single site or single atom), here prepared via surface organometallic chemistry, by grafting [(COD)Pt(OSi(OtBu)3)2] (1, COD = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) on partially dehydroxylated silica (1@SiO2). Compound 1@SiO2 has a Pt loading of 3.7 wt %, a surface area of 200 m2/g, and a surface Pt density of around 0.6 Pt site/nm2. Fast MAS 1H{195Pt} dipolar-HMQC and S-REDOR experiments were implemented on both the molecular precursor 1 and on the surface complex 1@SiO2, providing access to 195Pt isotropic shifts and Pt–H distances, respectively. For 1@SiO2, the measured isotropic shift and width of the shift distribution constrain fits of the static wide-line DNP-enhanced 195Pt spectrum, allowing the 195Pt chemical shift tensor parameters to be determined. Overall the NMR data provide evidence for a well-defined, single-site structure of the isolated Pt sites.

Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) is an effective approach to alleviate the inherently low sensitivity of solid-state NMR (ssNMR) under magic angle spinning (MAS) towards large-sized multi-domain complexes and assemblies. DNP relies on a polarization transfer at cryogenic temperatures from unpaired electrons to adjacent nuclei upon continuous microwave irradiation. This is usually made possible via the addition in the sample of a polarizing agent. The first pioneering experiments on biomolecular assemblies were reported in the early 2000s on bacteriophages and membrane proteins. Since then, DNP has experienced tremendous advances, with the development of extremely efficient polarizing agents or with the introduction of new microwaves sources, suitable for NMR experiments at very high magnetic fields (currently up to 900 MHz). After a brief introduction, several experimental aspects of DNP enhanced NMR spectroscopy applied to biomolecular assemblies are discussed. Recent demonstration experiments of the method on viral capsids, the type III and IV bacterial secretion systems, ribosome and membrane proteins are then described.

Structure determination of adjuvant-coupled antigens is essential for rational vaccine development but has so far been hampered by the relatively low antigen content in vaccine formulations and by their heterogeneous composition. Here we show that magic-angle spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR can be used to assess the structure of the influenza virus hemagglutinin stalk long alpha helix antigen, both in its free, unformulated form and once chemically coupled to the surface of large virus-like particles (VLPs). The sensitivity boost provided by high-field dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) and proton detection at fast MAS rates allows to overcome the penalty associated with the antigen dilution. Comparison of the MAS NMR fingerprints between the free and VLP-coupled forms of the antigen provides structural evidence of the conservation of its native fold upon bioconjugation. This work demonstrates that high-sensitivity MAS NMR is ripe to play a major role in vaccine design, formulation studies, and manufacturing process development.

Determining atomic-level characteristics of molecules on two-dimensional surfaces is one of the fundamental challenges in chemistry. High-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) could deliver rich structural information, but its application to two-dimensional materials has been prevented by intrinsically low sensitivity. Here we obtain high-resolution one- and two-dimensional 31P NMR spectra from as little as 160 picomoles of oligonucleotide functionalities deposited onto silicate glass and sapphire wafers. This is enabled by a factor >105 improvement in sensitivity compared to typical NMR approaches from combining dynamic nuclear polarization methods, multiple-echo acquisition, and optimized sample formulation. We demonstrate that, with this ultrahigh NMR sensitivity, 31P NMR can be used to observe DNA bound to miRNA, to sense conformational changes due to ion binding, and to follow photochemical degradation reactions., ACS Central Science, 5 (3), ISSN:2374-7951

International audience; Lu[CH(SiMe3)2]3 reacts with [SiO2-700] to give [(≡SiO)Lu[CH(SiMe3)2]2] and CH2(SiMe3)2. [(≡SiO)Lu[CH(SiMe3)2]2] is characterized by solid-state NMR and EXAFS spectroscopy, which show that secondary Lu···C and Lu···O interactions, involving a γ-CH3 and a siloxane bridge, are present. From X-ray crystallographic analysis, the molecular analogues Lu[CH(SiMe3)2]3-x[O-2,6-tBu-C6H3]x (x = 0-2) also have secondary Lu···C interactions. The (1)H NMR spectrum of Lu[CH(SiMe3)2]3 shows that the -SiMe3 groups are equivalent to -125 °C and inequivalent below that temperature, ΔG(⧧)(Tc = 148 K) = 7.1 kcal mol(-1). Both -SiMe3 groups in Lu[CH(SiMe3)2]3 have (1)JCH = 117 ± 1 Hz at -140 °C. The solid-state (13)C CPMAS NMR spectrum at 20 °C shows three chemically inequivalent resonances in the area ratio of 4:1:1 (12:3:3); the J-resolved spectra for each resonance give (1)JCH = 117 ± 2 Hz. The (29)Si CPMAS NMR spectrum shows two chemically inequivalent resonances with different values of chemical shift anisotropy. Similar observations are obtained for Lu[CH(SiMe3)2]3-x[O-2,6-tBu-C6H3]x (x = 1 and 2). The spectroscopic data point to short Lu···Cγ contacts corresponding to 3c-2e Lu···Cγ-Siβ interactions, which are supported by DFT calculations. Calculated natural bond orbital (NBO) charges show that Cγ carries a negative charge, while Lu, Hγ, and Siβ carry positive charges; as the number of O-based ligands increases so does the positive charge at Lu, which in turns shortens the Lu···Cγ distance. The change in NBO charges and the resulting changes in the spectroscopic and crystallographic properties show how ligands and surface-support sites rearrange to accommodate these changes, consistent with Pauling's electroneutrality concept.

WOS:000474803100008; The introduction of high-frequency, high-power microwave sources, tailored biradicals, and low-temperature magic angle spinning (MAS) probes has led to a rapid development of hyperpolarization strategies for solids and frozen solutions, leading to large gains in NMR sensitivity. Here, we introduce a protocol for efficient hyperpolarization of F-19 nuclei in MAS DNP enhanced NMR spectroscopy. We identified trifluoroethanol-d(3) as a versatile glassy matrix and show that 12mm AMUPol (with microcrystalline KBr) provides direct F-19 DNP enhancements of over 100 at 9.4T. We applied this protocol to obtain DNP-enhanced F-19 and F-19-C-13 cross-polarization (CP) spectra for an active pharmaceutical ingredient and a fluorinated mesostructured hybrid material, using incipient wetness impregnation, with enhancements of approximately 25 and 10 in the bulk solid, respectively. This strategy is a general and straightforward method for obtaining enhanced F-19 MAS spectra from fluorinated materials.

Coherence lifetimes in homonuclear dipolar decoupled 1 H solid-state NMR experiments are usually on the order of a few ms. We discover an oscillation that limits the lifetime of the coherences by recording spin-echo dephasing curves. We find that this oscillation can be removed by the application of a double spin-echo experiment, leading to coherence lifetimes of more than 45 ms in adamantane and more that 22 ms in β-AspAla, corresponding to refocused linewidths of less than 7 and 14 Hz respectively.

SSCI-VIDE+CARE:CDFA+MBE:PVE; International audience; We report the supercell crystal structure of a ZIF-8 analog substituted imidazolate metal–organic framework (SIM-1) obtained by combining solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance and powder X-ray diffraction experiments with density functional theory calculations

We also thank Dr Sara Baldock (Lancaster University) for assistance with AFM measurements and Greg Tainter (Cambridge) for assistance with initial NMR experiments. All data accompanying this publication are directly available at http://dx.doi.org.inc.bib.cnrs.fr/10.17635/lancaster/researchdata/83.; International audience; Conjugated polymers show promising properties as cheap, sustainable and solution-processable semiconductors. A key challenge in the development of these materials is to determine the polymer chain structure, conformation and packing in both the bulk polymer and in thin films typically used in devices. However, many characterisation techniques are unable to provide atomic-level structural information owing to the presence of disorder. Here, we use molecular modelling, magic-angle spinning (MAS) and dynamic nuclear polarisation surface-enhanced NMR spectroscopy (DNP SENS) to characterise the polymer backbone group conformations and packing arrangement in the high-mobility donor-acceptor copolymer diketopyrrolo-pyrrole-dithienylthieno[3,2-b]thiophene (DPP-DTT). Using conventional (1)H and (13)C solid-state MAS NMR coupled with density functional theory calculations and molecular dynamics simulations, we find that the bulk polymer adopts a highly planar backbone conformation with a laterally-shifted donor-on-acceptor stacking arrangement. DNP SENS enables acquisition of (13)C NMR data for polymer films, where sensitivity is limiting owing to small sample volumes. The DNP signal enhancement enables a two-dimensional (1)H-(13)C HETCOR spectrum to be recorded for a drop-cast polymer film, and a (13)C CPMAS NMR spectrum to be recorded for a spin-coated thin-film with a thickness of only 400 nm. The results show that the same planar backbone structure and intermolecular stacking arrangement is preserved in the films following solution processing and annealing, thereby rationalizing the favourable device properties of DPP-DTT, and providing a protocol for the study of other thin film materials.

We thank Prof. P. Tordo, Dr. O. Ouari and Dr. G. Casano (Aix-Marseille Universite) for supplying TEKPol and AMUPol, and Prof. Christophe Coperet (ETH Zurich) for supplying the silica based materials.; International audience; We show how DNP enhanced solid-state NMR spectra can be dramatically simplified by suppression of solvent signals. This is achieved by (i) exploiting the paramagnetic relaxation enhancement of solvent signals relative to materials substrates, or (ii) by using short cross-polarization contact times to transfer hyperpolarization to only directly bonded carbon-13 nuclei in frozen solutions. The methods are evaluated for organic microcrystals, surfaces and frozen solutions. We show how this allows for the acquisition of high-resolution DNP enhanced proton-proton correlation experiments to measure inter-nuclear proximities in an organic solid

We are grateful to Gottfried Otting for his helpful comments.; International audience; Despite their roles in controlling many cellular processes, weak and transient interactions between large structured macromolecules and disordered protein segments cannot currently be characterized at atomic resolution by Xray crystallography or solution NMR. Solid-state NMR does not suffer from the molecular size limitations affecting solution NMR, and it can be applied to molecules in different aggregation states, including non-crystalline precipitates and sediments. A solid-state NMR approach based on high magnetic fields, fast magic-angle sample spinning, and deuteration provides chemical-shift and relaxation mapping that enabled the characterization of the structure and dynamics of the transient association between two regions in an 80 kDa protein assembly. This led to direct verification of a mechanism of regulation of E. coli DNA metabolism.

We present a new phase modulated radio-frequency pulse sequence for homonuclear dipolar decoupling in proton solid-state NMR spectroscopy, eDUMBO-PLUS-1, with a chemical shift scaling factor of 0.73. This sequence was determined by screening random sequences, and experimentally optimizing the best candidates directly on H-1 NMR spectra with 60 kHz magic angle spinning. It yields efficient decoupling with linewidths as little as 150 Hz for 1.3 mm MAS probes on different spectrometers. Experiments and calculations support the hypothesis of a radio-frequency and MAS joint averaging regime, in which the large scaling factor contributes significantly to the overall performance of the decoupling sequence. (C) 2010 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

The solid-state NMR H-1 homonuclear decoupling sequences in the DUMBO family are shown to be effective at ultra-fast MAS rates of up to 65 kHz. The sequences are applied to model compounds glycine and [2-C-13]-L-alanine as well as the dipeptide beta-L-Asp-L-Ala in windowed and continuous phase-modulated versions. They are shown to achieve especially impressive resolution when implemented in a 2D constant-time experiment. At 65 kHz MAS, H-1 resolution using homonuclear decoupling is similar to that obtained at lower MAS rates, but peak intensity, and therefore spectral sensitivity, is improved by a factor of 5 over homonuclear-decoupled spectra at 10 kHz MAS. (C) 2008 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

A general approach for structural interpretation of local disorder in partially ordered solids is proposed, combining high-resolution two-dimensional (2D) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and first principles calculations. We show that small chemical shift variations of the order of a ppm can be interpreted in detailed structural terms with advanced density functional theory methods. Focusing on a model system of bisphosphinoamine, we demonstrate that the existence and the spatial range of small amplitude disorder can be probed using quantitative statistical analyses of 2D NMR line shapes obtained from through-space correlation experiments collected using variable mixing times. We show how low-energy vibration modes calculated from first principles can be conveniently used not as a cause of disorder but, instead, to generate a basis set of physically plausible local distortions to describe candidate static distributions of local geometries. Calculations of (31)P NMR isotropic chemical shifts are then used for the first time to simulate 2D correlation lineshapes associated with these distortions, which permit their evaluation as a potential source of disorder by comparison to experimental 2D cross-peaks between phosphorus sites. This new type of structural constraints allows the identification of changes in the bonding geometry that most likely contribute to the local structural disorder. We thus identify at least one type of structural deformation that is compatible with the experimental 2D NMR data and is also within the order of magnitude of the ``thermal ellipsoids'' associated with the uncertainties on the atomic positions of the X-ray diffraction structure.

Despite the widespread use of amorphous aluminosilicates (ASA) in various industrial catalysts, the nature of the interface between silica and alumina and the atomic structure of the catalytically active sites are still subject to debate. Here, by the use of dynamic nuclear polarization surface enhanced NMR spectroscopy (DNP SENS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we show that on silica and alumina surfaces, molecular aluminum and silicon precursors are, respectively, preferentially grafted on sites that enable the formation of Al(IV) and Si(IV) interfacial sites. We also link the genesis of Brønsted acidity to the surface coverage of aluminum and silicon on silica and alumina, respectively., Journal of the American Chemical Society, 137 (33), ISSN:0002-7863, ISSN:1520-5126

A general protocol for the structural characterization of paramagnetic molecular solids using solid-state NMR is provided and illustrated by the characterization of a high-spin Fe(II) catalyst precursor. We show how good NMR performance can be obtained on a molecular powder sample at natural abundance by using very fast (30 kHz) magic angle spinning (MAS), even though the individual NMR resonances have highly anisotropic shifts and very short relaxation times. The results include the optimization of broadband heteronuclear (proton-carbon) recoupling sequences for polarization transfer; the observation of single or multiple quantum correlation spectra between coupled spins as a tool for removing the inhomogeneous bulk magnetic susceptibility (BMS) broadening; and the combination of NMR experiments and density functional theory calculations, to yield assignments.

We show how powder samples at natural isotopic abundance can be assigned to crystal structures by using high-resolution proton and carbon-13 solid-state NMR spectra in combination with first principles calculations. Homonuclear proton double-quantum spectra in combination with through-bond proton-carbon HSQC spectra are used to assign the NMR spectra. We then show that the proton chemical shifts can be included in the process of assigning the spectra to a crystal structure using first principles calculations. The method is demonstrated on the K salt of penicillin G.

International audience; (1)H-detected solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments are recorded on both intact and trypsin-cleaved sedimented measles virus (MeV) nucleocapsids under ultra-fast magic-angle spinning. High-resolution (1)H,(15)N-fingerprints allow probing the degree of molecular order and flexibility of individual capsid proteins, providing an exciting atomic-scale complement to electro microscopy (EM) studies of the same systems.

A particularly difficult challenge in the chemistry of nanomaterials is the detailed structural and chemical analysis of multicomponent nano-objects. This is especially true for the determination of spatially resolved information. In this study, we demonstrate that dynamic nuclear polarization surface-enhanced solid-state NMR spectroscopy (DNP-SENS), which provides selective and enhanced NMR signal collection from the (near) surface regions of a sample, can be used to resolve the core–shell structure of a nanoparticle. Li-ion anode materials, monodisperse 10–20 nm large tin nanoparticles covered with a ∼3 nm thick layer of native oxides, were used in this case study. DNP-SENS selectively enhanced the weak 119Sn NMR signal of the amorphous surface SnO2 layer. Mössbauer and X-ray absorption spectroscopies identified a subsurface SnO phase and quantified the atomic fractions of both oxides. Finally, temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction measurements were used to probe the metallic β-Sn core and indicated that even after 8 months of storage at 255 K there are no signs of conversion of the metallic β-Sn core into a brittle semiconducting α-phase, a phase transition which normally occurs in bulk tin at 286 K (13 °C). Taken together, these results indicate that Sn/SnOx nanoparticles have core/shell1/shell2 structure of Sn/SnO/SnO2 phases. The study suggests that DNP-SENS experiments can be carried on many types of uniform colloidal nanomaterials containing NMR-active nuclei, in the presence of either hydrophilic (ion-capped surfaces) or hydrophobic (capping ligands with long hydrocarbon chains) surface functionalities., ACS Nano, 8 (3), ISSN:1936-0851, ISSN:1936-086X

The assignment of the NMR spectra of natural abundance medium-sized solid-state organic molecules still represents a challenging problem. In this paper, we show that a complete assignment of all the carbon-13, nitrogen-15, and proton NMR lines of a natural abundance solid peptide can be performed by combining various one-bond and multiple-bond correlation techniques for rotating solids. The assignment of the MAS spectra is shown to be unambiguous and relatively straightforward.

We present a theoretical framework for the use of continuously phase modulated radio-frequency pulses for homonuclear decoupling in solid-state NMR. Within this framework, we have derived new families of decoupling sequences using numerical optimization. One of these sequences is tested experimentally on an ordinary organic solid, and its performance is compared with standard multiple-pulse sequences. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

International audience; Using a set of six H-1-detected triple-resonance NMR experiments, we establish a method for sequence-specific backbone resonance assignment of magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of 5-30 kDa proteins. The approach relies on perdeuteration, amide H-2/H-1 exchange, high magnetic fields, and high-spinning frequencies (omega(r)/2 pi >= 60 kHz) and yields high-quality NMR data, enabling the use of automated analysis. The method is validated with five examples of proteins in different condensed states, including two microcrystalline proteins, a sedimented virus capsid, and two membrane-embedded systems. In comparison to contemporary C-13/N-15-based methods, this approach facilitates and accelerates the MAS NMR assignment process, shortening the spectral acquisition times and enabling the use of unsupervised state-of-the-art computational data analysis protocols originally developed for solution NMR.

International audience; We present here H-1-detected triple-resonance H/N/C experiments that incorporate CO-CA and CA-CB out-and-back scalar-transfer blocks optimized for robust resonance assignment in biosolids under ultra-fast magic-angle spinning (MAS). The first experiment, (H)(CO)CA(CO)NH, yields H-1-detected inter-residue correlations, in which we record the chemical shifts of the CA spins in the first indirect dimension while during the scalar-transfer delays the coherences are present only on the longer-lived CO spins. The second experiment, (H)(CA)CB(CA)NH, correlates the side-chain CB chemical shifts with the NH of the same residue. These high sensitivity experiments are demonstrated on both fully-protonated and 100 %-H-N back-protonated perdeuterated microcrystalline samples of Acinetobacter phage 205 (AP205) capsids at 60 kHz MAS

A series of seven functionalized nitroxide biradicals (the bTbK biradical and six derivatives) are investigated as exogenous polarization sources for dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) solid-state NMR at 9.4 T and with ca. 100 K sample temperatures. The impact of electron relaxation times on the DNP enhancement (ε) is examined, and we observe that longer inversion recovery and phase memory relaxation times provide larger ε. All radicals are tested in both bulk 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane solutions and in mesoporous materials, and the difference in ε between the two cases is discussed. The impact of the sample temperature and magic angle spinning frequency on ε is investigated for several radicals each characterized by a range of electron relaxation times. In particular, TEKPol, a bulky derivative of bTbK with a molecular weight of 905 g·mol–1, is presented. Its high-saturation factor makes it a very efficient polarizing agent for DNP, yielding unprecedented proton enhancements of over 200 in both bulk and materials samples at 9.4 T and 100 K. TEKPol also yields encouraging enhancements of 33 at 180 K and 12 at 200 K, suggesting that with the continued improvement of radicals large ε may be obtained at higher temperatures., Journal of the American Chemical Society, 135 (34), ISSN:0002-7863, ISSN:1520-5126

In a spin: The use of deuterated surface passivation agents is shown to restore dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) surface-enhanced NMR signals that are reduced in substrates containing methyl groups, while still protecting sensitive sites on the surface (see picture). Furthermore, apolar groups such as [D9]-trimethylsiloxy (TMS) repel radicals (yellow) away from the surface, thus diminishing detrimental paramagnetic effects induced by radical proximity. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

International audience; We present the molecular level characterization of a phenylpyridine-based periodicmesoporous organosilicate and its post-functionalized organometallic derivatives through the fast acquisition of high quality natural isotopic abundance 1D C-13, N-15, and Si-29 and 2D 1H-C-13 and 1H-Si-29 solid-state NMR spectra enhanced with dynamic nuclear polarization.

International audience; We present two sequences which combine ((1)H,(15)N) and ((15)N,(13)C) selective cross-polarization steps with an efficient variant of the J-based homonuclear transfer scheme, in which a spin-state-selective (S(3)E) block is incorporated to improve both resolution and sensitivity in the direct (13)C dimension. We propose these two sequences as a part of a suite of four N-C correlation experiments allowing for the assignment of protein backbone resonances in the solid state. We illustrate these experiments under ultra-fast magic angle spinning conditions on two samples of microcrystalline dimeric human superoxide dismutase (SOD, 153×2 amino acids), in its diamagnetic ("empty", Zn(II)) and paramagnetic (Cu(II), Zn(II)) states.

International audience; A double-zero quantum (DZQ)-refocused INADEQUATE experiment is introduced for J-based NMR correlations under ultra-fast (60 kHz) magic angle spinning (MAS). The experiment records two spectra in the same dataset, a double quantumsingle quantum (DQ-SQ) and zero quantumsingle quantum (ZQ-SQ) spectrum, whereby the corresponding signals appear at different chemical shifts in ?1. Furthermore, the spin-state selective excitation (S3E) J-decoupling block is incorporated in place of the second refocusing echo of the INADEQUATE scheme, providing an additional gain in sensitivity and resolution. The two sub-spectra acquired in this way can be treated separately by a shearing transformation, producing two diagonal-free single quantum (SQ-SQ)-type spectra, which are subsequently recombined to give an additional sensitivity enhancement, thus offering an improvement greater than a factor of two as compared to the original refocused INADEQUATE experiment. The combined DZQ scheme retains transverse magnetization on the initially polarized (I) spin, which typically exhibits a longer transverse dephasing time (T2') than its through-bond neighbour (S). By doing so, less magnetization is lost during the refocusing periods in the sequence to give even further gains in sensitivity for the J correlations. The experiment is demonstrated for the correlation between the carbonyl (CO) and alpha (CA) carbons in a microcrystalline sample of fully protonated, [15N,13C]-labelled CuII,?ZnII superoxide dismutase, and its efficiency is discussed with respect to other J-based schemes.

International audience; The determination of the nature and structure of surface sites after chemical modification of large surface area oxides such as silica is a key point for many applications and challenging from a spectroscopic point of view. This has been, for instance, a long-standing problem for silica reacted with alkylaluminum compounds, a system typically studied as a model for a supported methylaluminoxane and aluminum cocatalyst. While Al-27 solid-state NMR spectroscopy would be a method of choice, it has been difficult to apply this technique because of large quadrupolar broadenings. Here, from a combined use of the highest stable field NMR instruments (17.6, 20.0, and 23.5 T) and ultrafast magic angle spinning (>60 kHz), high-quality spectra were obtained, allowing isotropic chemical shifts, quadnipolar couplings, and asymmetric parameters to be extracted. Combined with first-principles calculations, these NMR signatures were then assigned to actual structures of surface aluminum sites. For silica (here SBA-15) reacted with triethylaluminum, the surface sites are in fact mainly dinuclear Al species, grafted on the silica surface via either two terminal or two bridging siloxy ligands. Tetrahedral sites, resulting from the incorporation of Al inside the silica matrix, are also seen as minor species. No evidence for putative tri-coordinated Al atoms has been found.

International audience; Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) (29)Si solid-state NMR spectra of a hybrid mesoporous silica material impregnated with aqueous biradical solutions have been acquired with cross-polarization (CP) and cross-polarization Carr-Purcell Meiboom-Gill (CP/CPMG) pulse sequences. The integrated intensities (II) and signal to noise ratios (S/N) of the (29)Si solid-state NMR spectra are monitored in order to measure the DNP enhancement factors (epsilon(Si) (CP)) as well as the overall sensitivity enhancement (Sigma(Si) (CP)) available from the combination of DNP and CPMG acquisition. Here, Sigma(Si) (CP) (epsilon(Si) (CP)) ((sic)(Si)) root kappa, where theta(Si) is a factor which quantifies reduction of the NMR signal by paramagnetic effects (quenching) and kappa is the square root of the ratio of nuclear longitudinal relaxation times of the dry material and material impregnated with radical solution. It is found that Sigma(Si) (CP) is always substantially lower than the measured value of epsilon(Si) CP due to paramagnetic effects which reduce the II of the (29)Si CP solid-state NMR spectra at high biradical concentrations. In this system, it is observed that the sample preparation which provides optimal DNP signal enhancement does not provide optimal overall signal enhancement. Notably, optimal signal enhancements are obtained for CPMG acquisition of the (29)Si solid-state NMR spectra when lower radical concentrations are employed due to slower transverse relaxation rates. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study which seeks to quantify the overall sensitivity enhancements available from DNP solid-state NMR experiments.

International audience; The surface of gamma-alumina nanoparticles can be characterized by dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) surface-enhanced NMR of Al-27. DNP is combined with cross-polarization and MQ-MAS to determine local symmetries of Al-27 sites at the surface.

International audience ; We demonstrate fast characterization of the distribution of surface bonding modes and interactions in a series of functionalized materials via surface-enhanced nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy using dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP). Surface-enhanced silicon-29 DNP NMR spectra were obtained by using incipient wetness impregnation of the sample with a solution containing a polarizing radical (TOTAPOL). We identify and compare the bonding topology of functional groups in materials obtained via a sol-gel process and in materials prepared by post-grafting reactions. Furthermore, the remarkable gain in time provided by surface-enhanced silicon-29 DNP NMR spectroscopy (typically on the order of a factor 400) allows the facile acquisition of two-dimensional correlation spectra.

International audience; We introduce a new experiment, which makes use of Spin State Selective manipulations to perform sensitive and resolved through-bond correlations in organic and biological solids at high-fields and under ultra-fast MAS. The scheme is the shortest and most sensitive through-bond correlation method introduced so far in solids, yields resolved fingerprints of uniformly (13)C-labeled biomolecules, and constitutes a tool to highlight slight static structural disorder around crystallographically equivalent molecules in microcrystalline samples.

International audience; It is shown that surface NMR spectra can be greatly enhanced using dynamic nuclear polarization. Polarization is transferred from the protons of the solvent to the rare nuclei (here carbon-13 at natural isotopic abundance) at the surface, yielding at least a 50-fold signal enhancement for surface species covalently incorporated into a silica framework.

A transverse-dephasing optimized S(3)E (spin-state selective excitation) method is implemented in solid-state NMR experiments of uniformly labeled protein samples, and it is shown to provide a simultaneous significant gain in both resolution (up to a factor of 2.2) and sensitivity (up to a factor of 1.4). This is illustrated with high-resolution NCO and NCA correlations of a microcrystalline sample of the oxidized form of the 153 residue human Cu(II)Zn(II) superoxide dismutase (SOD), a dimeric paramagnetic enzyme of 32 kDa. This method allows the resolution of 145 signals in the highly crowded carbonyl region in the NCO correlation spectrum.

This perspective contains a brief review of some of the most recent developments in solid-state NMR spectroscopy of spin I = 1/2 nuclei. Over the last few years, methodological advances have concerned both (1)H and lower gamma spin I = 1/2 nuclei (i.e. (13)C) and have led to the introduction of sophisticated high-resolution techniques that allow the structural investigation at an atomic level of wider and wider classes of materials. Significant developments have thus been reported in the characterisation of crystalline organic molecules, notably with the de novo structure determination of powders at natural isotopic abundance essentially by NMR alone. Key advances have been made in parallel in the structural characterisation of inorganic or hybrid frameworks, often in combination with first principle calculation of the NMR observed. Finally, progress has been reported in the structural investigation of proteins, which are not amenable to solution NMR or X-ray crystallography.

We observed and characterized two distinct signals originating from different pools of water protons in solid-state NMR protein samples, namely from crystal water which exchanges polarization with the protein (on the NMR timescale) and is located in the protein-rich fraction at the periphery of the magic-angle spinning (MAS) sample container, and supernatant water located close to the axis of the sample container. The polarization transfer between the water and the protein can be probed by two-dimensional exchange spectroscopy, and we show that the supernatant water does not interact with protein on the timescale of the experiments. The two water pools have different spectroscopic properties, including resonance frequency, longitudinal, transverse and rotating frame relaxation times. The supernatant water can be removed almost completely physically or can be frozen selectively. Both measures lead to an enhancement of the quality factor of the probe circuit, accompanied by an improvement of the experimental signal/noise, and greatly simplify solvent-suppression by substantially reducing the water signal. We also present a tool, which allows filling solid-state NMR sample containers in a more efficient manner, greatly reducing the amount of supernatant water and maximizing signal/noise.

A magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR technique to transfer polarization from protons to a specific set of the (13)C spins is introduced for the study of biomolecular samples in the solid-state. Ultrafast (60 kHz) MAS and low irradiation rf fields are used to achieve band-selective Hartmann-Hahn cross-polarization (CP) between the whole proton bath and carbons whose resonances are close to the (13)C-transmitter offset. When compared to conventional, broadband (1)H-(13)C CP, the band-selective experiment can be established without any loss of sensitivity when polarizing the aliphatic signals of a protein sample, and with a significant gain when polarizing carbonyls. This scheme can be used as a building block in 2D (13)C-(13)C homonuclear correlation experiments to obtain a faster and more sensitive characterization of biological solids.

Surfactant-templated layered silicates are shown to possess complex compositional, structural, and dynamic features that manifest rich and interrelated order and disorder at molecular length scales. Temperature-dependent 1D and 2D solid-state Si-29 NMR measurements reveal a chemical-exchange process involving the surfactant headgroups that is concomitant with reversible broadening of Si-29 NMR line shapes under magic-angle-spinning (MAS) conditions at temperatures in the range 205-330 K. Specifically, the temperature-dependent changes in the Si-29 transverse dephasing times T-2' can be quantitatively accounted for by 2-fold reorientational dynamics of the surfactant headgroups. Variable-temperature analyses demonstrate that the temperature-dependent Si-29 shifts, peak broadening, and 2D Si-29{Si-29} correlation NMR line shapes are directly related to the freezing of the surfactant headgroup dynamics, which results in local structural disorder within the silicate framework.

Recent advances in solid state NMR spectroscopy have made possible the understanding of surface species and active sites of heterogeneous catalysts at a molecular level. This tutorial review describes solid state NMR spectroscopy, what are the possible techniques to obtain high resolution and 2D spectra (structural information), and what are their applications in the context of well-defined heterogeneous catalysts prepared by surface organometallic chemistry.

The molecular dynamics of a series of organometallic complexes covalently bound to amorphous silica surfaces is determined experimentally using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations (DFT). The determination is carried out for a series of alkylidene-based catalysts having the general formula [([triple bond]SiO)M(ER)(=CH(t)Bu)(R')] (M = Re, Ta, Mo or W; ER = C(t)Bu, NAr or CH2(t)Bu; R' = CH2(t)Bu, NPh2, NC4H4). Proton-carbon dipolar coupling constants and carbon chemical shift anisotropies (CSA) are determined experimentally by solid-state NMR. Room-temperature molecular dynamics is quantified through order parameters determined from the experimental data. For the chemical shift anisotropy data, we validate and use a method that integrates static values for the CSA obtained computationally by DFT, obviating the need for low-temperature measurements. Comparison of the room-temperature data with the calculations shows that the widths of the calculated static limit dipolar couplings and CSAs are always greater than the experimentally determined values, providing a clear indication of motional averaging on the NMR time scale. Moreover, the dynamics are found to be significantly different within the series of molecular complexes, with order parameters ranging fromS(z)= 0.5 for [([triple bond]SiO)Ta(=CH(t)Bu)(CH2(t)Bu)2] and [([triple bond]SiO)Re([triple bond]C(t)Bu)(=CH(t)Bu)(CH2(t)Bu)] toS(z)= 0.9 for [([triple bond]SiO)Mo([triple bond]NAr)(=CH(t)Bu)(R') with R' = CH2(t)Bu, NPh2, NC4H4. The data also show that the motion is not isotropic and could be either a jump between two sites or more likely restricted librational motion. The dynamics are discussed in terms of the molecular structure of the surface organometallic complexes, and the orientation of the CSAs tensor at the alkylidene carbon is shown to be directly related to the magnitude of the alpha-alkylidene CH agostic interation.

International audience; A two-dimensional proton-mediated carbon-carbon correlation experiment that relies on through-bond heteronuclear magnetization transfers is demonstrated in the context of solid-state NMR of proteins. This new experiment, dubbed J-CHHC by analogy to the previously developed dipolar CHHC techniques, is shown to provide selective and sensitive correlations in the methyl region of 2D spectra of crystalline organic compounds. The method is then demonstrated on a microcrystalline sample of the dimeric protein Crh (2 x 10.4 kDa). A total of 34 new proton-proton contacts involving side-chain methyl groups were observed in the J-CHHC spectrum, which had not been observed with the conventional experiment. The contacts were then used as additional distance restraints for the 3D structure determination of this microcrystalline protein. Upon addition of these new distance restraints, which are in large part located in the hydrophobic core of the protein, the root-mean-square deviation with respect to the X-ray structure of the backbone atom coordinates of the 10 best conformers of the new ensemble of structures is reduced from 1.8 to 1.1 A.A two-dimensional proton-mediated carbon-carbon correlation experiment that relies on through-bond heteronuclear magnetization transfers is demonstrated in the context of solid-state NMR of proteins. This new experiment, dubbed J-CHHC by analogy to the previously developed dipolar CHHC techniques, is shown to provide selective and sensitive correlations in the methyl region of 2D spectra of crystalline organic compounds. The method is then demonstrated on a microcrystalline sample of the dimeric protein Crh (2 x 10.4 kDa). A total of 34 new proton-proton contacts involving side-chain methyl groups were observed in the J-CHHC spectrum, which had not been observed with the conventional experiment. The contacts were then used as additional distance restraints for the 3D structure determination of this microcrystalline protein. Upon addition of these new distance restraints, which are in large part located in the hydrophobic core of the protein, the root-mean-square deviation with respect to the X-ray structure of the backbone atom coordinates of the 10 best conformers of the new ensemble of structures is reduced from 1.8 to 1.1 A.

Numerical simulations and experiments are used to show that the spin dynamics of the dipolar-coupled networks in solids is often strongly dependent on crystallite orientation. In particular, different rates of dephasing of the magnetisation mean that NMR signals obtained at longer dephasing times are dominated by orientations in which the local dipolar coupling strength is relatively weak. This often leads to a distinct improvement in spectral resolution as the dephasing time is increased. The effects are particularly noticeable under magic-angle spinning (MAS), but are also observed when homonuclear decoupling is used to reduce the rate of dipolar dephasing. Numerical simulation is seen to be a powerful and easily used tool for understanding the behaviour of solid-state NMR experiments involving dipolar-coupled networks. The implications for solid-state NMR spectra of abundant spins acquired under MAS and homonuclear decoupling are discussed, as well as insights provided into the performance of `delayed-acquisition' and `constant-time' experiments. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The robustness of the refocused INADEQUATE MAS NMR pulse sequence for probing through-bond connectivities has been demonstrated in a large range of solid-state applications. This pulse sequence nevertheless suffers from artifacts when applied to multispin systems, e.g. uniformly labeled C-13 solids, which distort the lineshapes and can potentially result in misleading correlation peaks. In this paper, we present a detailed account that combines product-operator analysis, numerical simulations and experiments of the behavior of a three-spin system during the refocused INADEQUATE pulse sequence. The origin of undesired anti-phase contributions to the spectral lineshapes are described, and we show that they do not interfere with the observation of long-range correlations (e.g. two-bond C-13-C-13 correlations). The suppression of undesired contributions to the refocused INADEQUATE spectra is shown to require the removal of zero-quantum coherences within a z-filter. A method is proposed to eliminate zero-quantum coherences through dephasing by heteronuclear dipolar couplings, which leads to pure in-phase spectra. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Delayed-acquisition methods, namely, echo and constant-time-acquisition approaches, allow a significant improvement in resolution in the proton solid state NMR spectra of surface organometallic catalysts such as [ syn-( SiO) Mo-( =NAr)( =(CHBu)-Bu-t)( (CH2Bu)-Bu-t)] and [( SiO) Re( (CBu)-Bu-t)( =(CHBu)-Bu-t)( (CH2Bu)-Bu-t)] ( syn/anti ratio) 1: 1). This enables the observation of all of the proton resonances, which is not possible with the simple proton single-pulse technique under magic-angle spinning. For example, the methylene protons of the neopentyl ligands, buried in the large peak associated with all of the methyls in the H-1 MAS spectrum, can easily be identified by recording a delayed-acquisition spectrum ( resolution enhancement of a factor of 3 is obtained). Moreover, combining constant-time acquisition with heteronuclear carbon - proton correlation spectroscopy also improves the resolution of the 2D HETCOR spectra.

International audience; Water-protein interactions play a major role in protein folding, structure, and function, and solid-state NMR has recently been shown to be a powerful tool for the site-resolved observation of these interactions in solid proteins. In this article we report investigations on possible water-protein dipolar transfer mechanisms in the microcrystalline deuterated protein Crh by a set of solid-state NMR techniques. Double-quantum (DQ) filtered and edited heteronuclear correlation experiments are used to follow direct dipolar water-protein magnetization transfers. Experimental data reveal no evidence for "solid-like" water molecules, indicating that residence times of solvent molecules are shorter than required for DQ creation, typically a few hundred microseconds. An alternative magnetization pathway, intermolecular cross-relaxation via heteronuclear nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs), is probed by saturation transfer experiments. The significant additional enhancements observed when irradiating at the water frequency can possibly be attributed to direct heteronuclear water-protein NOEs; however, a contribution from relayed magnetization transfer via chemical exchange or proton-proton dipolar mechanisms cannot be excluded.Water-protein interactions play a major role in protein folding, structure, and function, and solid-state NMR has recently been shown to be a powerful tool for the site-resolved observation of these interactions in solid proteins. In this article we report investigations on possible water-protein dipolar transfer mechanisms in the microcrystalline deuterated protein Crh by a set of solid-state NMR techniques. Double-quantum (DQ) filtered and edited heteronuclear correlation experiments are used to follow direct dipolar water-protein magnetization transfers. Experimental data reveal no evidence for "solid-like" water molecules, indicating that residence times of solvent molecules are shorter than required for DQ creation, typically a few hundred microseconds. An alternative magnetization pathway, intermolecular cross-relaxation via heteronuclear nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs), is probed by saturation transfer experiments. The significant additional enhancements observed when irradiating at the water frequency can possibly be attributed to direct heteronuclear water-protein NOEs; however, a contribution from relayed magnetization transfer via chemical exchange or proton-proton dipolar mechanisms cannot be excluded.

International audience; A refocused INEPT through-bond coherence transfer technique is demonstrated for NMR of rigid organic solids and is shown to provide a valuable building block for the development of NMR correlation experiments in biological solids. The use of efficient proton homonuclear dipolar decoupling in combination with a direct spectral optimization procedure provides minimization of the transverse dephasing of coherences and leads to very efficient through-bond (1)H-(13)C INEPT transfer for crystalline organic compounds. Application of this technique to 2D heteronuclear correlation spectroscopy leads to up to a factor of 3 increase in sensitivity for a carbon-13 enriched sample in comparison to standard through-bond experiments and provides excellent selectivity for one-bond transfer. The method is demonstrated on a microcrystalline sample of the protein Crh (2 x 10.4 kDa).A refocused INEPT through-bond coherence transfer technique is demonstrated for NMR of rigid organic solids and is shown to provide a valuable building block for the development of NMR correlation experiments in biological solids. The use of efficient proton homonuclear dipolar decoupling in combination with a direct spectral optimization procedure provides minimization of the transverse dephasing of coherences and leads to very efficient through-bond (1)H-(13)C INEPT transfer for crystalline organic compounds. Application of this technique to 2D heteronuclear correlation spectroscopy leads to up to a factor of 3 increase in sensitivity for a carbon-13 enriched sample in comparison to standard through-bond experiments and provides excellent selectivity for one-bond transfer. The method is demonstrated on a microcrystalline sample of the protein Crh (2 x 10.4 kDa).

International audience; Site-specific nitrogen-15 longitudinal relaxation rates are measured for the microcrystalline dimeric form of the protein Crh using multidimensional high-resolution solid-state NMR methods. The measured rates are used to provide a qualitative description of the site-specific internal mobility of the protein present in the solid state.Site-specific nitrogen-15 longitudinal relaxation rates are measured for the microcrystalline dimeric form of the protein Crh using multidimensional high-resolution solid-state NMR methods. The measured rates are used to provide a qualitative description of the site-specific internal mobility of the protein present in the solid state.