Biomedical subjects

Darren H Brouwer

Publications and source records attributed to Darren H Brouwer.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Effect of molecular oxygen on the variable-temperature 29Si MAS NMR spectra of zeolite-sorbate complexes.

Structure determinations of siliceous zeolite-sorbate host-guest complexes by solid-state NMR require highly resolved 29Si MAS NMR spectra. As the temperature is lowered, the 29Si MAS NMR spectra of many zeolite-sorbate complexes become broadened such that the resolution of the individual 29Si peaks is lost, limiting the application of solid-state NMR for structure determination. It is shown that the 29Si peak widths are related to the 29Si T2 relaxation times and that the source of the 29Si relaxation and the line broadening is paramagnetic molecular oxygen in the channels of the zeolite. Removal of the oxygen by purging the sample with nitrogen gas leads to a dramatic increase in the resolution of the 29Si MAS NMR spectrum of the p-dibromobenzene/ZSM-5 complex. An analysis of the individual 29Si T1 relaxation times reveals that the oxygen molecules are localized mainly in the zigzag channels of ZSM-5, suggesting that the p-dibromobenzene molecules are located in the channel intersections.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

An efficient peak assignment algorithm for two-dimensional NMR correlation spectra of framework structures.

An algorithm is described for efficiently assigning the resonances in NMR spectra to the inequivalent atoms in the structure under study based on the information in two-dimensional NMR correlation experiments and the 'connectivities' known from the structure. The algorithm, which is based on basic graph theory concepts, finds all possible assignments sets which are consistent with the experimentally observed correlations and known connectivities in a very efficient manner. It is designed to deal with less than ideal experimental data in which there may be overlapping peaks and uncertainty about the presence or absence of correlation peaks. The algorithm was primarily developed for assigning the peaks in the high-resolution solid-state 29Si MAS NMR spectra of highly siliceous zeolites based on two-dimensional 29Si INADEQUATE spectra and is described using the zeolites ZSM-12 and ZSM-5 as working examples. Peak assignment for zeolite frameworks is particularly challenging since there is often little or no information to distinguish peaks from one another such as characteristic chemical shifts, relative intensities, or different relaxation times. The algorithm may be a useful tool for easily, reliably, and efficiently working out peak assignments from other types of correlation experiments on other types of systems and further examples are provided in the Supplementary material.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2002

Combined solid state NMR and X-ray diffraction investigation of the local structure of the five-coordinate silicon in fluoride-containing as-synthesized STF zeolite.

The local structure of the [SiO(4/2)F]- unit in fluoride-containing as-synthesized STF zeolite has been experimentally determined by a combination of solid-state NMR and microcrystal X-ray diffraction to be very close to trigonal bipyramidal. Because the fluoride ions are disordered over two sites, the resulting local structure of the [SiO(4/2)F]- unit from a conventional XRD refinement is an average between tetrahedral SiO(4/2) and five-coordinate [[SiO(4/2)F]-, giving an apparent F-Si distance longer than expected. The correct F-Si distance was determined by slow spinning MAS and fast spinning (19)F/(29)Si CP and REDOR solid-state NMR experiments and found to be between 1.72 and 1.79 A. In light of this, the X-ray structure was re-refined, including the disorder at Si3. The resulting local structure of the [SiO(4/2)F]- unit was very close to trigonal bipyramidal with a F-Si distance of 1.744 (6) A, in agreement with the NMR results and the prediction of Density Functional Theory calculations. In addition, further evidence for the existence of a covalent F-Si bond is provided by a (19)F-->(29)Si refocused INEPT experiment. The resonance for the five-coordinate species at -147.5 ppm in the (29)Si spectrum is a doublet due to the (19)F/(29)Si J-coupling of 165 Hz. The peaks in this doublet have remarkably different effective chemical shift anisotropies due to the interplay of the CSA, dipolar coupling, and J-coupling tensors. The distortions from tetrahedral geometry of the neighboring silicon atoms to the five-coordinate Si3 atom are manifested in increased delta(aniso) values. This information, along with F-Si distances measured by (19)F-->(29)Si CP experiments, makes it possible to assign half of the (29)Si resonances to unique tetrahedral sites. As well as determining the local geometry of the [SiO(4/2)F]- unit, the work presented here demonstrates the complementarity of the solid-state NMR and X-ray diffraction techniques and the advantages of using them together.

Journal Article↗