NMR spectra with peaks at the principal values of the chemical shielding tensor

The NMR chemical shielding in a solid powder sample produces featured, but broad, lineshapes, or powder patterns, because the shielding experienced by a nuclear spin depends on the spatial orientation of its local molecular frame with respect to the external magnetic field. The lineshape, however, is fully determined by the three principal values of the shielding tensor. We present a simple approach that uses sample spinning NMR to extract peaks at the principal-value frequencies from chemical shielding powder patterns. Such techniques may simplify spectra with overlapping powder patterns without the information loss inherent in fast magic angle spinning. Experimental data and numerical simulations are presented for two 31P model compounds.