2,2-Dimethylbutan-1-ol
(2,2-DM-1-B), 3,3-dimethylbutan-1-ol (3,3-DM-1-B),
and 3,3-dimethylbutan-2-ol (3,3-DM-2-B) show a rich solid-state polymorphism,
which includes one or more plastic crystalline phases (also referred
to as orientationally disordered crystalline (ODIC) phases) and glass
of the liquid or ODIC phases. In this work, the dynamics of the three
isomeric alcohols was investigated in the liquid and plastic crystalline
phases by fast field cycling 1H NMR relaxometry in the
temperature range between 213 and 303 K. The analysis of the nuclear
magnetic relaxation dispersion curves (i.e., longitudinal relaxation
rate R
1 vs 1H Larmor frequency)
acquired for the different alcohols at different temperatures gave
quantitative information on internal motions, overall molecular reorientations,
and molecular self-diffusion. Self-diffusion coefficients were also
determined in the liquid phase and in some ODIC phases of the samples
from the trends of 1H R
1 as
a function of the frequency square root at low frequencies. Remarkable
changes in the temperature trends of correlation times and self-diffusion
coefficients were found at the transition between the liquid and the
ODIC phase for 2,2-DM-1-B and 3,3-DM-1-B, and between ODIC phases
for 3,3-DM-2-B, the latter sample showing a markedly different dynamic
and phase behavior.