title: Zero-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of viscous liquids.
abstract: We report zero-field NMR measurements of a viscous organic liquid, ethylene glycol. Zero-field spectra were taken showing resolved scalar spin-spin coupling (J-coupling) for ethylene glycol at different temperatures and water contents. Molecular dynamics strongly affects the resonance linewidth, which closely follows viscosity. Quantum chemical calculations have been used to obtain the relative stability and coupling constants of all ethylene glycol conformers. The results show the potential of zero-field NMR as a probe of molecular structure and dynamics in a wide range of environments, including viscous fluids.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, CA 94720-7300, United States; Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California at Berkeley, CA 94720, United States; Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States. Electronic address: jwblanchard@berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Blanchard
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, CA 94720-7300, United States.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pustelny
authors.affiliation: CNR Institute on Membrane Technology, Padova Unit, Via Marzolo, 1, 35131 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saielli
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo, 1, 35131 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bagno
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, CA 94720-7300, United States.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Ledbetter
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of California at Berkeley, CA 94720-7300, United States; Nuclear Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States; Helmholtz-Institut Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg University, Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Budker
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California at Berkeley, CA 94720, United States; Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pines
keywords: Density functional theory; Scalar coupling; Viscous liquids; Zero-field NMR