Advanced Magnetic Resonance Techniques for the Structural Characterization of Aminoxyl Radicals and Their Inorganic-Organic Nanocomposite Systems

Electron and nuclear spins are extremely sensitive probes of their local structural and dynamic surroundings. Their Zeeman energy levels are modified by different types of local magnetic and electric fields created by their structural environment, which influence their magnetic resonance condition. For this reason, electron spin resonance (ESR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopies have become extremely powerful tools of structural analysis, which are being widely used for the structural characterization of complex solids. Following a brief introduction into the basic theoretical foundations the most commonly used techniques and their application towards the structural characterization of paramagnetic solids based on aminoxyl radicals and their inorganic-organic nanocomposites will be described. Both ESR and NMR observables are useful for monitoring intermolecular interactions between unpaired electron spins, which are particularly important for the design of organically based ferromagnetic systems. ESR and NMR methods based on this effect can be used for monitoring the synthesis of polynitroxides and for evaluating the catalytic function of aminoxyl intercalation compounds. Finally, the sensitivity of ESR signals to motional dynamics can be exploited for characterizing molecule-surface interactions in nanocomposite systems. In the context of the latter work recently developed signal enhancement strategies are described, using polarization transfer from electron spins to nuclear spins for NMR spectroscopic detection.