Solid-state NMR characterization of 69Ga and 71Ga in crystalline solids.

Gallium model systems containing four- and six-coordinate gallium sites have been investigated using solid-state NMR. Measurement of the isotropic chemical shift and electric field gradient (EFG) have been performed at 9.4 T on alpha-Ga2O3, beta-Ga2O3, LiGaO2, NaGaO2, KGaO2, Ga2(SO4)3, and LaGaO3 using a variety of techniques on both NMR active nuclei (69Ga and 71Ga) including static, high speed magic-angle spinning (MAS), satellite transition (ST) spectroscopy, and rotor-assisted population transfer (RAPT). The chemical shift is found to correlate well with the coordination number, with four-coordinate gallium having values of approximately 50 ppm and six-coordinate gallium having values near 225 ppm (referenced to 1 M gallium nitrate solution). The magnitude of the EFG is found to be correlated to the distortion of the gallium polyhedra, with the strained systems having EFGs of 3 x 10(21) Vm(-2) or more, while the less strained systems have values of 1.5 x 10(21) Vm(-2) or less. A plot of chemical shift versus EFG suggests that solid-state NMR of gallium oxyanions can be more discriminating than liquid state NMR chemical shifts alone. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.