Quadrupole experimental methodology

To understand the varied chemistry of the aluminas, techniques need to be developed for studying the surface independent of the bulk. Structural and dynamical aspects of the surface do have their origins in the bulk, but the specific details delineating the surface will be different. Clearly it would be advantageous to apply the same surface selective CP methodology developed for the silicas [12-16] to the surface of the aluminas. Before addressing this particular point, however, we need to consider the feasibility of the experiment. Are the aluminum atoms at the surface indeed observable by NMR methods If surface aluminum atoms are observable, we must then recognize that the spin of interest, Al, is not a spin-1/2 nuclide (/ for Al is 5/2) hence Al has a nonzero nuclear electric quadrupole moment. Cross-polarization from protons to a quadrupolar nucleus presents the experimenter with another layer of complication in compari-... 

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