skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Measuring chirality in NMR in the presence of a time-dependent electric field

Abstract

Traditional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments are “blind” to chirality since the spectra for left and right handed enantiomers are identical in an achiral medium. However, theoretical arguments have suggested that the effective Hamiltonian for spin-1/2 nuclei in the presence of electric and magnetic fields can be different for left and right handed enantiomers, thereby enabling NMR to be used to spectroscopically detect chirality even in an achiral medium. However, most proposals to detect the chiral NMR signature require measuring signals that are equivalent to picomolar concentrations for {sup 1}H nuclei, which are outside current NMR detection limits. In this work, we propose to use an AC electric field that is resonantly modulated at the Larmor frequency, thereby enhancing the effect of the chiral term by four to six orders of magnitude. We predict that a steady-state transverse magnetization, whose direction will be opposite for different enantiomers, will build up during application of an AC electric field. We also propose an experimental setup that uses a solenoid coil with an AC current to generate the necessary periodic electric fields that can be used to generate chiral signals which are equivalent to the signal from a {sup 1}H submicromolar concentration.

Authors:
 [1]
  1. Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22420060
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Journal of Chemical Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 140; Journal Issue: 23; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0021-9606
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; CHIRALITY; ELECTRIC FIELDS; HAMILTONIANS; MAGNETIC FIELDS; MAGNETIZATION; NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE; SENSITIVITY; SOLENOIDS; SPECTRA; SPIN; TIME DEPENDENCE

Citation Formats

Walls, Jamie D., E-mail: jwalls@miami.edu, and Harris, Robert A. Measuring chirality in NMR in the presence of a time-dependent electric field. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4882698.
Walls, Jamie D., E-mail: jwalls@miami.edu, & Harris, Robert A. Measuring chirality in NMR in the presence of a time-dependent electric field. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4882698
Walls, Jamie D., E-mail: jwalls@miami.edu, and Harris, Robert A. 2014. "Measuring chirality in NMR in the presence of a time-dependent electric field". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4882698.
@article{osti_22420060,
title = {Measuring chirality in NMR in the presence of a time-dependent electric field},
author = {Walls, Jamie D., E-mail: jwalls@miami.edu and Harris, Robert A.},
abstractNote = {Traditional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments are “blind” to chirality since the spectra for left and right handed enantiomers are identical in an achiral medium. However, theoretical arguments have suggested that the effective Hamiltonian for spin-1/2 nuclei in the presence of electric and magnetic fields can be different for left and right handed enantiomers, thereby enabling NMR to be used to spectroscopically detect chirality even in an achiral medium. However, most proposals to detect the chiral NMR signature require measuring signals that are equivalent to picomolar concentrations for {sup 1}H nuclei, which are outside current NMR detection limits. In this work, we propose to use an AC electric field that is resonantly modulated at the Larmor frequency, thereby enhancing the effect of the chiral term by four to six orders of magnitude. We predict that a steady-state transverse magnetization, whose direction will be opposite for different enantiomers, will build up during application of an AC electric field. We also propose an experimental setup that uses a solenoid coil with an AC current to generate the necessary periodic electric fields that can be used to generate chiral signals which are equivalent to the signal from a {sup 1}H submicromolar concentration.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4882698},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22420060}, journal = {Journal of Chemical Physics},
issn = {0021-9606},
number = 23,
volume = 140,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Jun 21 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Sat Jun 21 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}