NMR spectroscopy for chemical analysis at low magnetic fields

Abstract

This chapter addresses the limits of low-field NMR spectroscopy for chemical analysis and will answer the question of whether high-resolution NMR spectroscopy for chemical analysis of solutions can be achieved with magnetic fields much lower than 0.1 T without losing the chemical information which at high field is derived from the chemical shift and the indirect spin-spin or J-coupling. The focus is on two major issues. First, the thermal spin population differences given by the Boltzmann distribution are small at low field and so is the signal-to-noise-ratio when starting measurements from thermal equilibrium. Second, the possibility of identifying chemical groups is explored at low magnetic fields where the chemical shift can usually no longer be resolved.