Effects of spin diffusion on spin–lattice relaxation in solid-state 2H MAS NMR spectroscopy

Recently, there has been increased interest in using 2H MAS NMR spectroscopy as an alternative to ‘static’ quadrupolar-echo NMR for studying dynamics in solids. Here we show that the phenomenon of enhanced spin diffusion as a result of n = 0 rotational resonance can lead to observation of a common spin–lattice (T1) relaxation time for all deuterons. Thus, if rapidly relaxing groups are present, such as –CD3 or - ND 3 + groups, then even highly immobile deuterons can exhibit T1 relaxation times of ∼1 s under MAS conditions, greatly facilitating data acquisition.