Solid-state NMR Research Service for UK Universities

Solid-state NMR is an important technique for characterising and studying solid materials whether they are homogeneous or heterogeneous, crystalline or amorphous. It can be applied across a wide-range of chemistry including novel organic, inorganic, organometallic and hybrid compounds, polymers (both natural and synthetic), fuels, pharmaceutical and excipients, composites, ceramics, catalysts, liquid crystals and biologically-based systems. This proposal is for a solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) research service. The service will be available to members of the UK academic community and will based around a new state-of-the-art 400 MHz spectrometer. It will build upon the well-established and highly-experienced service currently running at Durham. The service will offer experiment planning and interpretation, in addition to providing high-quality spectra. It will promote the application of solid-state NMR to chemical problems and will act as a centre for practical training in solid-state NMR methodology. The EPSRC service will run in parallel to a commercial service supporting the research and development needs of industry. The case for support describes how the service will be structured, how it will operate and how much instrument time will be available to its users. It is proposed that the Service will operate for a period of five years to permit a major equipment upgrade to be carried out and its impact evaluated.