Nuclear spin relaxation due to motion on inequivalent sites: H diffusion on O and T sites in the face-centred cubic structure

Magnetization recoveries for nuclear spin relaxation of like spins due to magnetic dipolar coupling and diffusion on inequivalent sites involve a sum of exponentials. The theory is applied to diffusion on octahedral and tetrahedral interstitial sites in the face-centred cubic structure. Monte Carlo simulations have been used to generate relaxation data for parameters typical for H in metals. It is found that only a single exponential would be observable in the high- and low-temperature limits, but that two-exponential recoveries could be observable in the vicinity of the maximum in the relaxation rate as a function of temperature. The Monte Carlo relaxation data has been fitted using a Bloembergen–Pound–Purcell (BPP) model to assess the accuracy of the BPP model.