Mechanical correlation time

The measurement of correlation times in molten salts and ionic liquids has recently been reviewed [11] (for more recent references refer to Carper et al. [12]). We have measured the spin-lattice relaxation rates l/Tj and nuclear Overhauser factors p in temperature ranges in and outside the extreme narrowing region for the neat ionic liquid [BMIM][PFg], in order to observe the temperature dependence of the spectral density. Subsequently, the models for the description of the reorientation-al dynamics introduced in the theoretical section (Section 4.5.3) were fitted to the experimental relaxation data. The nuclei of the aliphatic chains can be assumed to relax only through the dipolar mechanism. This is in contrast to the aromatic nuclei, which can also relax to some extent through the chemical-shift anisotropy mechanism. The latter mechanism has to be taken into account to fit the models to the experimental relaxation data (cf [1] or [3] for more details). Preliminary results are shown in Figures 4.5-1 and 4.5-2, together with the curves for the fitted functions. 

Just as in phase transitions in statistical mechanical systems, observable quantities in PCA systems display singularities obeying simple power laws with universal critical exponents at the transition point. For example, letting ni be the number of sites with correlation length, and t be the correlation time, Kinzel [kinz85b] finds that for p ... 

Up to now it has been tacitly assumed that each molecular motion can be described by a single correlation time. On the other hand, it is well-known, e.g., from dielectric and mechanical relaxation studies as well as from photon correlation spectroscopy and NMR relaxation times that in polymers one often deals with a distribution of correlation times60 65), in particular in glassy systems. Although the phenomenon as such is well established, little is known about the nature of this distribution. In particular, most techniques employed in this area do not allow a distinction of a heterogeneous distribution, where spatially separed groups move with different time constants and a homogeneous distribution, where each monomer unit shows essentially the same non-exponential relaxation. Even worse, relaxation... 

Polycarbonate (PC) serves as a convenient example for both, the direct determination of the distribution of correlation times and the close connection of localized motions and mechanical properties. This material shows a pronounced P-relaxation in the glassy state, but the nature of the corresponding motional mechanism was not clear 76 80> before the advent of advanced NMR techniques. Meanwhile it has been shown both from 2H NMR 17) and later from 13C NMRSI) that only the phenyl groups exhibit major mobility, consisting in 180° flips augmented by substantial small angle fluctuations about the same axis, reaching an rms amplitude of 35° at 380 K, for details see Ref. 17). 

However, only the left-hand side of the inequality has a clear, although qualitative, physical meaning. As far as collision time tc is concerned, its evaluation as p/ v) in Eq. (1.58) is rather arbitrary. Alternatively, it may be defined as the correlation time of the collisional processes which modulate the rotation. Using the mechanical equation of motion... 

The Mossbauer spectra of the complex [Fe(acpa)2]PF6 shown in Fig. 26 have also been interpreted on the basis of a relaxation mechanism [168]. For the calculations, the formalism using the modified Bloch equations again was employed. The resulting correlation times x = XlXh/(tl + Xh) are temperature dependent and span the range between 1.9 x 10 s at 110 K and 0.34 x 10 s at 285 K. Again the correlation times are reasonable only at low temperatures, whereas around 200 K increase of the population of the state contributes to... 

Electronic relaxation is a crucial and difficult issue in the analysis of proton relaxivity data. The difficulty resides, on the one hand, in the lack of a theory valid in all real conditions, and, on the other hand, by the technical problems of independent and direct determination of electronic relaxation parameters. At low fields (below 0.1 T), electronic relaxation is fast and dominates the correlation time tc in Eq. (3), however, at high fields its contribution vanishes. The basic theory of electron spin relaxation of Gdm complexes, proposed by Hudson and Lewis, uses a transient ZFS as the main relaxation mechanism (100). For complexes of cubic symmetry Bloembergen and Morgan developed an approximate theory, which led to the equations generally... 

Their Gdm complexes were found to show significantly increased relaxivity upon interaction with Zn11, Ca11, and Mg11 ions. The relaxivity increase was related to an increase of the rotational correlation time, and the mechanism was ascribed to the formation of coordination oligomers or polymers that are typical for bisphosphonate complexes. 

Since different molecular processes may simultaneously contribute to the spin relaxation in LC, the relaxation rates due to various relaxation mechanisms are additive if the motions can be decoupled on the basis of sufficiently different correlation times 30... 

There remains an interpretation of ta to be found, ta exhibits an activation energy of about 0.43 0.1 eV, about three times as high as the C-C torsional barrier of 0.13 eV. The discrepancy must reflect the influence of the interactions with the environment and therefore ta appears to correspond to relaxation times most likely involving several correlated jumps. The experimental activation energy is in the range of that for the NMR correlation time associated with correlated conformational jumps in bulk PIB [136] (0.46 eV) and one could tentatively relate ta to the mechanism underlying this process (see later). 

As stated in Section II.B of Chapter 2, the actual correlation time for electron-nuclear dipole-dipole relaxation, is dominated by the fastest process among proton exchange, rotation, and electron spin relaxation. It follows that if electron relaxation is the fastest process, the proton correlation time Xc is given by electron-spin relaxation times Tie, and the field dependence of proton relaxation rates allows us to obtain the electron relaxation times and their field dependence, thus providing information on electron relaxation mechanisms. If motions faster than electron relaxation dominate Xc, it is only possible to set lower limits for the electron relaxation time, but we learn about some aspects on the dynamics of the system. In the remainder of this section we will deal with systems where electron relaxation determines the correlation time. 

Tie are also expected to be field-dependent. Their field dependence can be described by two parameters the electron relaxation time at low fields Tso, and the correlation time for the electron relaxation mechanism Ty (see Eq. (14) of Chapter 2) (5). However, Tso usually depends on (see Eq. (52) of Chapter 2). Therefore, it is preferable to select two different parameters for describing the field dependence of electron relaxation. For S > 1/2 systems, in case the electron relaxation is due to modulation of a time dependent transient zero-field splitting, A, (pseudorotational model), the Bloembergen-Morgan equations are obtained 5,6) ... 

In general, fluctuations in any electron Hamiltonian terms, due to Brownian motions, can induce relaxation. Fluctuations of anisotropic g, ZFS, or anisotropic A tensors may provide relaxation mechanisms. The g tensor is in fact introduced to describe the interaction energy between the magnetic field and the electron spin, in the presence of spin orbit coupling, which also causes static ZFS in S > 1/2 systems. The A tensor describes the hyperfine coupling of the unpaired electron(s) with the metal nuclear-spin. Stochastic fluctuations can arise from molecular reorientation (with correlation time Tji) and/or from molecular distortions, e.g., due to collisions (with correlation time t ) (18), the latter mechanism being usually dominant. The electron relaxation time is obtained (15) as a function of the squared anisotropies of the tensors and of the correlation time, with a field dependence due to the term x /(l + x ). 

In symmetric complexes where the excited electronic levels are high in energy, for S > 1/2, the most efficient electron relaxation mechanism seems to be due to the modulation of transient ZFS with a correlation time independent of xr. As already seen, this time is ascribed to the correlation time for the collisions of the solvent molecules, responsible for the deformation of the coordination polyhedron causing transient ZFS. In complexes where a static ZFS is also present, modulation of this ZFS with a correlation time related to xr is another possible electron relaxation mechanism. 

Chromium(III) has a ground state in pseudo-octahedral symmetry. The absence of low-lying excited states excludes fast electron relaxation, which is in fact of the order of 10 -10 ° s. The main electron relaxation mechanism is ascribed to the modulation of transient ZFS. Figure 18 shows the NMRD profiles of hexaaqua chromium(III) at different temperatures (62). The position of the first dispersion, in the 333 K profile, indicates a correlation time of 5 X 10 ° s. Since it is too long to be the reorientational time and too fast to be the water proton lifetime, it must correspond to the electron relaxation time, and such a dispersion must be due to contact relaxation. The high field dispersion is the oos dispersion due to dipolar relaxation, modulated by the reorientational correlation time = 3 x 10 s. According to the Stokes-Einstein law, increases with decreasing temperature, and... 

Bloembergen et al. (S) have presented a relationship between the correlation time for molecular rotation in liquids and the relaxation times assuming that relaxation takes place via mechanism (i) of Section II,A,3. Although the theory can be at best semiquantitative when applied to the protons of water molecules adsorbed on silica gel, values of the nuclear correlation time have been calculated 18) from the T data. These correlation times as a function of x/m show a definite change of slope near a monolayer coverage. This result, if corroborated by data on other solids, may provide a rather unique method for the determination of monolayer coverage. 

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