Regular Article
Magic-Angle Sample Spinning Electron Paramagnetic Resonance—Instrumentation, Performance, and Limitations

https://doi.org/10.1006/jmre.2000.2196Get rights and content

Abstract

An electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) setup for line narrowing experiments with fast sample spinning at variable angles between the rotation axis and the static magnetic field is described and applied in the magic-angle sample spinning (MAS) EPR experiment at X-band frequencies (9.5 GHz). Sample spinning speeds up to 17 kHz at temperatures down to 200 K can be achieved with rotors of 4-mm outer and 2.5-mm inner diameter without severe losses in microwave amplitude compared to standard pulse EPR probeheads. A phase cycle is introduced that provides pure absorption MAS EPR spectra and allows one to distinguish between positive and negative frequency offsets (pseudo-quadrature detection). Possible broadening mechanisms in MAS EPR spectra are discussed. It is demonstrated both by theory and by experiment that the MAS EPR experiment requires excitation bandwidths that are comparable to the total spectral width, since otherwise destructive interference between contributions of spins with similar resonance offsets suppresses the signal. Experimental observations on the E1 center in γ-irradiated silica glass and on the SO3 radical in γ-irradiated sulfamic acid are reported.

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