Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Spin-mapping of coal structures with ESE and ENDOR

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6409310· OSTI ID:6409310

Work reported this quarter (1) continues the study of organic sulfur species in coal with Very High Frequency (VHF) EPR spectroscopy and (2) includes some pulsed EPR work on coals carried out with the S-band ESE spectrometer. A detailed VHF study of one coal from the Illinois Coal Sample Bank is reported, including spectra from separated macerals and solvent extracted coal. Further refinements in the two-species model for interpreting these spectra are presented. It is increasingly apparent that while the organic sulfur species seen by VHF EPR in coal may be thiophenic, they do not have spectra that directly implicate either thiophene or dibenzothiophene as unique molecular forms. The emerging picture seems to indicate a thiophenic sulfur species in which the unpaired electron is delocalized over a more extensive aromatic cluster. VHF EPR may be quite specific for aromatic organic sulfur. Spectra from eight coals in the Argonne Premium Sample program also have been studied by VHF EPR, and analysis is now under way to determine how well the two-species model accounts for the general features of these spectra. Pulsed electron spin resonance has been performed on the Argonne coals in order to determine their electron phase memory times (T{sub M}) at ca. 1000 G magnetic fields. EPR and NMR imaging experiments on Illinois coals are currently focussing on developing better resolution through improvements in the spectrometer hardware. 18 refs., 10 figs., 2 tabs.

Research Organization:
Illinois Univ., Urbana, IL (USA)
Sponsoring Organization:
DOE/FE
DOE Contract Number:
FG22-88PC88921
OSTI ID:
6409310
Report Number(s):
DOE/PC/88921-6; ON: DE91004342
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English