A Toolbox of Solid-State NMR Experiments for the Characterization of Soft Organic Nanomaterials

Abstract

Determining how organic molecules self-assemble into a solid material is a challenging and demanding task if a single crystal of the material cannot be produced. Solid-state NMR spectroscopy offers access to such molecular details via an appropriate selection of techniques. This report gives a selected overview of 1D and 2D solid-state NMR techniques for elucidating the structure of soft organic solids. We focus on how the solid-state NMR techniques are designed from the perspective of the different nuclear interactions, using average Hamiltonian theory and product operators. We also introduce recent methods for quantification and reduction of experimental artifacts. Finally, we highlight how the solid-state NMR techniques can be applied to soft organic materials by reviewing recent applications to semicrystalline polymers, π-conjugated polymers, natural silk, and graphene-related materials.