Phase Transformations in Porous Materials Studied by <i>In Situ</i> Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy and <i>In Situ</i> X-ray Diffraction

Abstract

Studying complex processes in solid phases such as adsorption or phase transitions in situ is the best way to obtain detailed and realistic insights on a molecular level. Besides in situ X-ray diffraction techniques, magic angle spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR spectroscopy is one of the most powerful analytical techniques. The implementation of in situ and operando MAS NMR is however challenging and requires dedicated hardware. We introduce here a new 4.0 mm wide-bore probe that allows for a continuous and well-distributed flow of gaseous adsorbates or reactants through the packed sample, as well as uniform heating of the sample and spinning of the rotor at the magic angle. The combination of both in situ MAS NMR and in situ powder X-ray diffraction allowed us to obtain new insights into two phase transformation mechanisms in crystalline, porous materials, viz. that of aluminophosphate VPI-5 into AlPO4-8 and that of metal–organic frameworks from the MIL-53 family during water adsorption and desorption.