Nuclear spin conversion of water inside fullerene cages detected by low-temperature nuclear magnetic resonance
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027 (United States)
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD (United Kingdom)
The water-endofullerene H{sub 2}O@C{sub 60} provides a unique chemical system in which freely rotating water molecules are confined inside homogeneous and symmetrical carbon cages. The spin conversion between the ortho and para species of the endohedral H{sub 2}O was studied in the solid phase by low-temperature nuclear magnetic resonance. The experimental data are consistent with a second-order kinetics, indicating a bimolecular spin conversion process. Numerical simulations suggest the simultaneous presence of a spin diffusion process allowing neighbouring ortho and para molecules to exchange their angular momenta. Cross-polarization experiments found no evidence that the spin conversion of the endohedral H{sub 2}O molecules is catalysed by {sup 13}C nuclei present in the cages.
- OSTI ID:
- 22254849
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 140, Issue 19; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-9606
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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