NMR studies of oriented molecules

Abstract

The properties of liquid crystalline mesophases have been of continuing interest in physics and chemistry since the discovery of these novel compounds. Recently, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been extensively used to probe the microscopic nature of liquid crystal samples. The NMR spectra contain information which is sensitive to internal molecular parameters and reflect the anisotropic potential in which the molecules reorient. Fast diffusion and rotational motion remove the effects of couplings between molecules.

Time-Domain Multiple-Quantum NMR

“…These illustrative examples are, as a matter of convenience, largely from the work of the Berkeley group directed by Alex Pines. Figure 1 is a proton multiple quantum spectrum of benzene partially oriented in a liquid crystal (14)(15)(16). It is presented here to serve as a point of reference for introduction of the sections to follow.…”