Enhancing sensitivity of quadrupolar nuclei in solid-state NMR with multiple rotor assisted population transfers

Rotor-assisted population transfer (RAPT) was developed as a method for enhancing MAS NMR sensitivity of quadrupolar nuclei by transferring polarization associated with satellite transitions to the central m = 1/2--> - 1/2 transition. After a single RAPT transfer, there still remains polarization in the satellite transitions that can be transferred to the central transition. This polarization is available without having to wait for the spill system to return to thermal equilibrium. We describe a new RAPT scheme that uses the remaining polarization of the satellites to obtain a further enhancement of the central transition by performing RAPT-enhanced experiments multiple times before waiting for re-equilibration of the spin system. For Al-27 (I = 5/2) in albite we obtain a multiple RAPT enhancement of 3.02, a 48% increase over single RAPT. For Nb-93 (I = 9/2) in NaNbO3 we obtain a multiple RAPT enhancement of 5.76, an 89% increase over single RAPT. We also describe a data processing procedure for obtaining the maximum possible signal-to-noise ratio. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Inc.