Using Metal–Organic Frameworks to Confine Liquid Samples for Nanoscale NV-NMR
At a Glance
Section titled “At a Glance”| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2022-12-08 |
| Journal | Nano Letters |
| Authors | Kristina Liu, Xiaoxin Ma, Roberto Rizzato, A. Lisa Semrau, Alex Henning |
| Institutions | Technical University of Munich, Schott (Germany) |
| Citations | 8 |
Abstract
Section titled “Abstract”Atomic-scale magnetic field sensors based on nitrogen vacancy (NV) defects in diamonds are an exciting platform for nanoscale nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The detection of NMR signals from a few zeptoliters to single molecules or even single nuclear spins has been demonstrated using NV centers close to the diamond surface. However, fast molecular diffusion of sample molecules in and out of the nanoscale detection volumes impedes their detection and limits current experiments to solid-state or highly viscous samples. Here, we show that restricting diffusion by confinement enables nanoscale NMR spectroscopy of liquid samples. Our approach uses metal-organic frameworks (MOF) with angstrom-sized pores on a diamond chip to trap sample molecules near the NV centers. This enables the detection of NMR signals from a liquid sample, which would not be detectable without confinement. These results set the route for nanoscale liquid-phase NMR with high spectral resolution.