title: Sorption isotherm measurements by NMR.
abstract: An experimental setup is described for the automated recording of sorption isotherms by NMR experiments at precisely defined levels of relative humidity (RH). Implementation is demonstrated for a cotton fabric; Bloch decays. T1 and T2* relaxation times were measured at predefined steps of increasing and decreasing relative humidities (RHs) so that a complete isotherm of NMR properties was obtained. Bloch decays were analyzed by fitting to relaxation functions consisting or a slow- and a fast-relaxing component. The fraction of slow-relaxing component was greater than the fraction of sorbed moisture determined from gravimetric sorption data. The excess slow-relaxing component was attributed to plasticized segments of the formerly rigid cellulose matrix. T1 and T2* sorption isotherms exhibit hysteresis similar to gravimetric sorption isotherms. However, correlating RH to moisture content (MC) reveals that both relaxation constants depend only on MC, and not on the history of moisture exposure.
authors.affiliation: School of Textile and Fiber Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0295, USA. johannes.leisen@tfe.gatech.edu
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leisen
authors.forename: Haskell W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Beckham
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Benham
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D002482:Cellulose / Q000737:chemistry*; D032561:Cotton Fiber; D006813:Humidity; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013696:Temperature; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D017155:Wettability
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D002482:Cellulose