Observation of the transition state for pressure-induced BO₃→ BO₄ conversion in glass.

A fundamental mechanistic understanding of the pressure- and/or temperature-induced facile transformation of the coordination environment of boron is important for changing the physical properties of glass. We have used in situ high-pressure (up to 2 gigapascals) boron-11 solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in combination with ab initio calculations to investigate the nature of the transition state for the pressure-induced BO3→ BO4 conversion in a borosilicate glass at ambient temperature. The results indicate an anisotropic elastic deformation of the BO3 planar triangle, under isotropic stress, into a trigonal pyramid that likely serves as a precursor for the subsequent formation of a BO4 tetrahedron.

MATPASS/CPMG: a sensitivity enhanced magic-angle spinning sideband separation experiment for disordered solids.

A Carr-Purcell Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) sensitivity-enhanced spinning sideband separation experiment is presented. The experiment combines the idea of magic-angle turning and phase-adjusted sideband separation (MATPASS), allowing for isotropic/anisotropic chemical shift separation of disordered solids with line widths far greater than the magic-angle spinning frequency. The use of CPMG enhances the sensitivity of the wide-line spectra by an order of magnitude via multiple-echo acquisition.