title: Diffusion NMR methods applied to xenon gas for materials study.
abstract: We report initial NMR studies of (i) xenon gas diffusion in model heterogeneous porous media and (ii) continuous flow laser-polarized xenon gas. Both areas utilize the pulsed gradient spin-echo (PGSE) techniques in the gas phase, with the aim of obtaining more sophisticated information than just translational self-diffusion coefficients--a brief overview of this area is provided in the Introduction. The heterogeneous or multiple-length scale model porous media consisted of random packs of mixed glass beads of two different sizes. We focus on observing the approach of the time-dependent gas diffusion coefficient, D(t) (an indicator of mean squared displacement), to the long-time asymptote, with the aim of understanding the long-length scale structural information that may be derived from a heterogeneous porous system. We find that D(t) of imbibed xenon gas at short diffusion times is similar for the mixed bead pack and a pack of the smaller sized beads alone, hence reflecting the pore surface area to volume ratio of the smaller bead sample. The approach of D(t) to the long-time limit follows that of a pack of the larger sized beads alone, although the limiting D(t) for the mixed bead pack is lower, reflecting the lower porosity of the sample compared to that of a pack of mono-sized glass beads. The Pade approximation is used to interpolate D(t) data between the short- and long-time limits. Initial studies of continuous flow laser-polarized xenon gas demonstrate velocity-sensitive imaging of much higher flows than can generally be obtained with liquids (20-200 mm s-1). Gas velocity imaging is, however, found to be limited to a resolution of about 1 mm s-1 owing to the high diffusivity of gases compared with liquids. We also present the first gas-phase NMR scattering, or diffusive-diffraction, data, namely flow-enhanced structural features in the echo attenuation data from laser-polarized xenon flowing through a 2 mm glass bead pack.
authors.affiliation: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. rmair@cfa.harvard.edu
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Mair
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Cory
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Walsworth
mesh_terms: D004058:Diffusion; D007834:Lasers; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008863:Microspheres; D016062:Porosity; D014978:Xenon / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014978:Xenon