Solid state nuclear magnetic resonance studies of functional materials

The functional properties of materials are inherently linked to the structure, and therefore it is imperative that accurate and comprehensive characterisations are accomplished to improve performance. As improvements to materials are often related to a greater morphological complexity through disorder, analytical techniques are required to characterise these structural intricacies. Solid state NMR is excellent at obtaining short range information and has therefore been implemented for structural elucidation in the areas of heterogeneous catalysis, thermoelectric materials and optoelectronic materials. The large chemical shift range and high sensitivity of 17O solid state NMR allows for minor structural changes to be detected making it an attractive prospective tool in the structural characterisation of platinum group metal (PGM) catalysts. For the first time, 17O solid state NMR spectra for PtO2, PdO, Rh2O3 nanoparticles and bulk RuO2 are reported and correlated to their structures through the use of PXRD, Raman spectroscopy and TEM. Furthermore, the application of 17O solid state MAS NMR to Pt and Pd supported by the commonly used metal oxide supports; -Al2O3, SiO2 and TiO2 has been explored and complemented by 195Pt, 1H and 29Si solid state NMR. This has allowed for direct observation of catalyst-support bonding which provides new avenues for the structural characterisation of catalytic systems. A multiple technique approach has been adopted to probe the structure of Sr