The study of surface chemistry has always involved a bit of a paradox. Chemical processes at solid–liquid and solid–gas interfaces are ubiquitous in batteries, industrial reactors, biomedical devices, and many other systems. But despite some research at moderate pressures (see the article by Gabor Somorjai and Jeong Young Park, Physics Today, October 2007, page 48), most surface-science research tools, such as x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and secondary-ion mass spectroscopy, work only under ultrahigh vacuum. Not only do they require bulky and expensive pumps and vacuum chambers, but they can’t even access the conditions of greatest chemical and biological interest.
NMR spectroscopy is a time-honored tool for chemical analysis that works on bulk liquids, solids, and solid-like biomolecular systems. By measuring the precession frequency of spin-½ nuclei—for example, hydrogen-1, carbon-13, or fluorine-19—in a magnetic field, researchers can extract exquisite chemical information and even reaction dynamics. (See, for example, Physics Today...
