Extending the lifetime of hyperpolarisation

In nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), one of the most serious inherent challenges is the low sensibility of nuclei. In order to enhance the signal of NMR experiments, the technique of dynamic nuclear hyperpolarisation (DNP) was introduced in the 1950s, leading to a high field prototype apparatus in the 1990s for solid-state applications under MAS conditions. In 2003, the coupling between low-temperature polarisation and room temperature detection also came into reality, which is known as dissolution-DNP (d-DNP). In this thesis, we present a new sample formulation for d-DNP experiments. Also, a new scheme for separating the preparation of hyperpolarised materials and detection apparatus is proposed, which would allow us to overcome the usual requirement that the apparatus for hyperpolarisation and the device for signal detection have to be in close proximity. A numerical model based on the finite element method (FEM) is proposed to study the dynamics of nuclear magnetic energy in both conventional spin glasses and biphasic d-DNP samples. This method first permits a visualisation of the process of the build-up of polarisation and of the relaxation of magnetisation during a DNP experiment. Based on such calculations, we could estimate the optimal experimental parameters for the preparation of hyperpolarised samples, including but not limited to the chemical composition of the samples, the length of spin locking pulses, and the duration of intervals between spin locking pulses in pulse sequences. An interesting conclusion from our simulations is that, under suitable conditions of storage, the lifetime of the hyperpolarisation can be extended to hours or even days in carefully designed biphasic samples. This allows us to propose two experimental approaches aiming at drawing benefit from such an attenuated relaxation. One method deals with the molecules of interest (MOIs) that are in crystalline form at room temperature and normal pressure. Such powders can be impregnated with radical-doped organic glass-forming solvents that have an orthogonal solubility. Under the DNP conditions, the magnetisation is transferred from the single electron of the polarising agent (PA) to the nuclei in the glassy organic solvents. The nuclear polarisation is then relayed to the particles of MOI. We can further confine the nuclear hyperpolarisation overnight in a moderate static magnetic field in a liquid helium bath. On the other hand, for the MOIs that are liquid or even gaseous at room temperature and normal pressure, we propose a spin-labelled solid matrix with interconnecting pores. The fluids can be filled into the pores of the matrix. Under the DNP conditions, the DNP process begins from inside the polarising matrix, and then passes to the fluids that are frozen in the pores.

Structural and Dynamical Properties of Potassium Dodecahydro-monocarba-closo-dodecaborate: KCB11H12

Mirjana Dimitrievska, Wei Zhou

MCB11H12 (M: Li, Na) dodecahydro-monocarba-closo-dodecaborate salt compounds are known to have stellar superionic Li+ and Na+ conductivities in their high-temperature disordered phases, making them potentially appealing electrolytes in all-solid-state batteries. Nonetheless, it is of keen interest to search for other related materials with similar conductivities while at the same time exhibiting even lower (more device-relevant) disordering temperatures, a key challenge for this class of materials. With this in mind, the unknown structural and dynamical properties of the heavier KCB11H12 congener were investigated in detail by X-ray powder diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, neutron vibrational spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, quasielastic neutron scattering, and AC impedance measurements. This salt indeed undergoes an entropy-driven, reversible, order-disorder transformation and with a lower onset temperature (348 K upon heating and 340 K upon cooling) in comparison to the lighter LiCB11H12 and NaCB11H12 analogues. The K+ cations in both the low-T ordered monoclinic (P2(1)/c) and high-T disordered cubic (Fm (3) over barm) structures occupy octahedral interstices formed by CB11H12- anions. In the low-T structure, the anions orient themselves so as to avoid close proximity between their highly electropositive C-H vertices and the neighboring K+ cations. In the high-T structure, the anions are orientationally disordered, although to best avoid the K+ cations, the anions likely orient themselves so that their C-H axes are aligned in one of eight possible directions along the body diagonals of the cubic unit cell. Across the transition, anion reorientational jump rates change from 6.2 x 10(6) s(-1) in the low-T phase (332 K) to 2.6 x 10(10) s(-1) in the high-T phase (341 K). In tandem, K+ conductivity increases by about 30-fold across the transition, yielding a high-T phase value of 3.2 x 10(-4 )S cm(-1 )at 361 K. However, this is still about 1 to 2 orders of magnitude lower than that observed for LiCB(11)H(12 )and NaCB11H12, suggesting that the relatively larger K+ cation is much more sterically hindered than Li+ and Na+ from diffusing through the anion lattice via the network of smaller interstitial sites.

AMER CHEMICAL SOC2020

Long-lived nuclear spin states of magnetically equivalent protons by means of dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization

Daniele Mammoli

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is one of the most versatile techniques since it enables the characterization of solid, liquid and gaseous systems in a plethora of in-vitro and in-vivo experiments. Despite its multidisciplinary scope, it still suffers from two drawbacks, namely the intrinsic low sensitivity and the fast return to equilibrium. Dissolution Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (D-DNP) is a powerful scheme to enhance the signals of nuclear spins by up to five orders of magnitude and it is at the forefront of current research in NMR. The main detriment is that the great efforts spent in producing the hard-earned hyperpolarized signals fade because of rapid longitudinal relaxation with a time constant T1. Long-Lived States (LLS) are states with lifetimes that may be much longer than T1. In a two-spin system, they can be defined as a T/S Imbalance (TSI) between the average population of the three triplet (T) states on the one hand and the population of the singlet (S) state on the other. So far, para-hydrogen is the only molecule routinely used as a source of long-lived hyperpolarization. In recent years, it has been shown that it is possible to create a TSI in magnetically in-equivalent spins, by exploiting DNP to lower the spin temperature well below the Zeeman splitting. The present thesis is devoted to combine D-DNP with LLS in the perspective of preparing enhanced and long-lasting NMR signals in systems comprising magnetically equivalent protons. We proved that that is possible to induce the TSI via D-DNP in partly deuterated ethanol and in fumaric acid. In ethanol the TSI has been revealed by 1H-13C cross-relaxation that leads to population differences across observable transitions. In fumarate, we resorted to a symmetry-breaking addition of D2O catalysed by fumarase which makes the TSI observable on the two magnetically in-equivalent protons of malate. In principle, our strategy should allow one to prepare either an excess or a deficiency of para-water, which we like to refer to as âforbidden fruitsâ of spectroscopy. Water is challenging since its TSI may suffer from relaxation due to fast proton exchange and to spin-rotation. We assessed conditions suitable to slow down proton exchange by dilution in aprotic solvents, yielding lifetimes of water as a molecular entity on a timescale compatible with D-DNP experiments. We designed an arrangement of coaxial tubes to measure T1 of water vapour at known pressures and temperatures. The experimental T1 are rather small (i.e., tens of ms) and in fair agreement with predictions if spin-rotation is the dominant relaxation mechanism. Empirical evidence of the survival of the hyperpolarized signal of water after dissolution in our lab suggests that the exchange of water molecules between the gaseous and liquid phases is either inefficient or slow in most of cases we studied. I report preliminary results of the application of our D-DNP scheme to induce a TSI in water. Considering the complexity of the project, further investigation is needed to unravel and optimize recent observations in view of identifying an unambiguous fingerprint of dilute para-water.

EPFL2016

Novel Sample Formulations for Pure and Persistent Hyperpolarized Solutions via Dissolution Dynamic Nuclear Polarization

Basile Vuichoud

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy allows one to study and analyze the structure, motions and interactions of a broad variety of molecules. However, this technique has a major inconvenience: its low sensitivity, which therefore often results in the use of highly concentrated samples in order to observe tiny signals. As recently as 2003, a new technique known as dissolution-DNP or d-DNP was invented by Ardenkjaer-Larsen et al. to overcome this drawback and to get more intense NMR signals in solution with enhancements factors larger than 10'000. This method consists essentially in mixing paramagnetic species (radicals) with samples containing the metabolites to be analyzed. These mixtures are then rapidly frozen at very low temperatures (T = 1.2 â 4.2 K) in liquid helium and, by applying a proper microwave irradiation, the polarization of the electrons can be transferred to nuclei such as 1H or 13C. This allows one to build up and store the enhanced magnetization of these nuclei and then to dissolve the samples by injecting a superheated solvent via a dissolution stick. The resulting hyperpolarized solution can be finally transferred to an NMR spectrometer where the signals can be recorded. In the first two chapters of this thesis, the principles of NMR are introduced and the theory of DNP is explained in some detail. The dissolution equipment used in our laboratory and its different parts are shown, in particular the DNP polarizer where the transfer of polarization from electrons to nuclei occurs, the microwave source that is connected to the polarizer, and the dissolution system itself, which comprises the dissolution stick and the dissolution transfer line. Another chapter is dedicated to the optimization of our DNP setup in order to achieve the highest possible polarization before the dissolution process. Several radicals are tested under carefully controlled conditions to identify the best suited for our DNP system. Furthermore, the modulation of the microwave frequency has been optimized in order to enhance the polarization transfer. Finally, a number of dissolution experiments are presented that relate to different projects that have been carried out in the course of this thesis. The extent of the polarization can be determined accurately by looking directly at the hyperpolarized NMR spectrum. Filterable polymers containing suitable radical moieties have been synthesized in order to obtain pure hyperpolarized solutions. A final chapter outlines future applications and projects that can benefit from dissolution Dynamic Nuclear Polarization.

EPFL2017