2H Chemical-shift resolution and dipolar2H-1H,2H-15N correlations in solid-state MAS NMR spectroscopy for structure determination and distance measurements in hydrogen-bonded systems

Abstract In solid-state NMR, deuteron (2H) spectroscopy can be performed in full analogy to1H spectroscopy, including2H chemical-shift resolution and2H-X dipolar correlation schemes, when the NMR experiments are conducted in a “rotor-synchronized” fashion under fast magic-angle spinning. Here, 2H-X NMR experiments of this type, including2H-15N and2H-1H chemical-shift correlations and distance measurements, are introduced and demonstrated on cytosine monohydrate, whose acidic protons can readily be replaced by deuterons by recrystallization from D2O. In this way,2H NMR spectroscopy provides information complementary to1H NMR data, which is particularly useful for studying hydrogen bonds in supra- or biomolecular systems.