In
order to shed light on molecular dynamics and structure in layered
materials, 27Al NMR spectra of layered double hydroxides
(LDHs) were investigated by varying the layer charge density, the
cations of the sheets, the interlayer anions, the hydration state,
and the temperature. This study reveals that most of the broadening
of 27Al satellite transitions in LDHs is due to dynamics
within the interlayer space rather than the chemical environment of 27Al in the sheets, i.e., cation disorder. This finding provides
a new solid-state NMR tool to probe dynamics in aluminum-bearing layered
materials which does not require tensor calculations, which is based
on direct acquisition spectra and which provides long-range information
as the 27Al spectra are sensitive to dynamics that occur
3–5 Å away from the observed nuclei.