Introduction: NMR of inorganic nuclei

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has long been established as one of the most important analytical tools at the disposal of the experimental chemist. The isotope-specific nature of the technique can provide unparalleled insights into local structure and dynamics. As seen in the various contributions to this Volume, applications of NMR spectroscopy to inorganic systems span the gas phase, liquid phase, and solid state. The nature of the systems discussed covers a very wide range, including glasses, single-molecule magnets, energy storage materials, bioinorganic systems, nanoparticles, catalysts, and more. The focus is largely on isotopes other than 1 H and 13 C, although there are clearly many applications of NMR of these nuclides to the study of inorganic compounds and materials. The value of solid-state NMR in particular in studying the large percentage of nuclides which are quadrupolar (spin I > ½) is apparent in the various contributions to this chapter. This is perhaps to be expected given that rapid quadrupolar relaxation can often obfuscate the observation of these resonances in solution.