Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book deals with heterogeneous catalysis and allows several leading practitioners to describe examples of materials and processes in heterogeneous catalysis under investigation by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. Modern solid-state NMR makes it possible to detect signals from distinguishable sites in molecules and materials and to monitor the connectivities, correlations, and dynamics of these sites. Furthermore, NMR spectroscopy is essentially noninvasive and can be carried out in the presence of gases or liquids over a wide range of temperatures and pressures. While the principal use of NMR spectroscopy is to obtain information about the chemical environment of elements in catalysts or species adsorbed on catalysts, the technique can also be used to characterize atomic and molecular motions. The types of information that may be derived from NMR signals include site identification and intersite correlations.