Deuterium NMR

Deuterium NMR is NMR spectroscopy of deuterium (²H or D), an isotope of hydrogen. Deuterium is an isotope with spin = 1, unlike hydrogen which is spin = 1/2. Deuterium NMR has a range of chemical shift similar to proton NMR but with poor resolution. It may be used to verify the effectiveness of deuteration: a deuterated compound will show a peak in deuterium NMR but not proton NMR.^[1]

Deuterium NMR spectra are especially informative in the solid state because of its relatively small quadrupole moment in comparison with those of bigger quadrupolar nuclei such as chlorine-35, for example. One example is the use of deuterium NMR to study lipid membrane phase behavior.

References

• Articles about solid-state deuterium NMR
• Comparison of 1H, 2H and 3H solution-state NMR