Multiplex Detection of Multiple-Quantum/Single-Quantum NMR Correlation Spectra

High-ordered multiple-quantum coherences have been used to gauge the size of coupled networks of nuclear spins but are seldom used in modern high-resolution solid-state NMR spectroscopy due to the low resolution of earlier techniques. Herein, we extend this work to the third dimension by designing an MQ spin counting experiment with full chemical resolution of the nuclei involved in the coherences. The technique uses multiplex processing to simultaneously acquire MQ/1Q correlation 2D spectra, with all even-ordered values of M, in the same amount of time it would take to acquire the 2Q/1Q spectrum alone. We apply this multiplexed MQ/1Q correlation method to probe site clustering on functionalized silica surfaces and find the first evidence of clusters involving three or more functionalities. When applied to a supported zirconium metallocene, the observation of a 6Q coherence between six cyclopentadienyl proton nuclei confirms the colocation of two cyclopentadienyl ligands on a single metal center.