Low-temperature methyl group dynamics of hexamethylbenzene in crystalline and glassy matrices as studied by 2H NMR

Abstract 2 H NMR spectra of hexamethylbenzene (HMB) in protonated crystalline and amorphous matrices at low temperatures are presented. All spectra reveal lineshape changes which can be attributed to methyl group tunnelling. Compared to neat HMB, a drastic increase of the tunnelling frequency is found for all systems. This indicates that the hindering potential originates predominantly from intermolecular forces. We studied the temperature dependence of these spectra and the spin-lattice relaxation in order to exclude a distribution of motional correlation times describing a thermally activated process. In addition, we find a distortion of the methyl tetrahedron.

β-process of supercooled o-terphenyl: a comparison of dielectrical and NMR data guided by mode-coupling theory

Abstract According to predictions of mode-coupling theory of the liquid-glass transition, a Cole-Cole dynamical susceptibility is applied to the β-relaxation of supercooled o -terphenyl as studied by 2 H NMR spin-lattice relaxation and by dielectrical relaxation. A temperature-dependent amplitude (1- f ) is assumed for the β-process which yields a description of the NMR data consistent with the dielectrical data. The plateau value f separating the α- and β-processes in the two-step correlation function reveals a similar temperature dependence as compared to the Debye-Waller factor.

Organic Glasses and Polymers