Chemical analysis with NMR spectroscopy

There is a demand for analytics that can provide temporally and spatially resolved information about processes taking place, e.g. in reactors. The analysis should be independent of the material system used and also be suitable for samples of unknown composition. It should also be possible to quantitatively analyse technical samples (measurable without dilution by solvents or special additives). This is where NMR spectroscopy comes into play. The measuring principle of magnetic nuclear spin spectroscopy is based on the excitation of nuclear spins that possess certain atoms (e.g. protons) and the derivation of the molar fraction of a species directly from the measured intensity. It offers the following advantages over other types of analysis:

• Applicable to flowing samples and can therefore be coupled with a process
• Applicable in a technical-industrial environment
• Qualitative analysis of unknown samples (structure elucidation)
• Quantitative analysis without calibration
• High chemical selectivity
• Analysis of complex multi-component systems

The objective is to use the diverse possibilities offered by NMR spectroscopy for applications in both academic and industrial research environments and to obtain information for process optimisation.

The main objectives are

• Integration of NMR spectroscopy hardware into future laboratory and pilot plant scale systems
• Further development of flexible mid-field devices for direct use as online analytical tools
• Further development of the evaluation of complex spectra in particular using model-based approaches

NMR research at the RPTU is bundled in the LASE MR group.