Techniques for the Measurement of Small Anisotropies in Magic Angle Spinning NMR Spectra

Two novel methods for enhancing the effect of small anisotropies on magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectra are described. The first method is a simple two‐dimensional (2D) spin echo experiment, which generates rotational sidebands at a fraction of the spinning frequency in the ω₁ dimension, while maintaining the effective spinning speed in ω₂. It is shown that the rotational sidebands in the 2D spectrum are much larger than in a normal one‐dimensional MAS spectrum obtained at the same spinning speed, and the relative intensities of the two‐dimensional sideband array can be analyzed to yield the anisotropy and asymmetry parameter of the coupling tensor. The second method is designed to measure homonuclear dipolar couplings. We show that the effect of a dipolar coupling between members of an isolated spin pair can be enhanced by adjusting the spinning speed such that nω_r = ω_Δ^iso, where n is an integer, ω_r is the spinning speed, and ω_Δ^iso is the difference between isotropic shifts. When this condition, termed rotational resonance, is satisfied, a broadening or a splitting of the normally sharp resonance lines is observed. In addition, rapid exchange of Zeeman order between the dipolar coupled spins is seen. This method holds promise for the measurement of through space dipolar couplings and thus internuclear distances in polycrystalline solids.