NMR Centre

UCD School of Chemistry NMR Centre

Our aim is to support teaching laboratories and research groups and to provide analysis of NMR spectra. The NMR Centre is available to researchers in academia and industry.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)

NMR spectroscopy is one of the most widely used analytical techniques available to synthetic chemists to determine the molecular composition, structure or purity of a chemical sample. By measuring the resonance frequency of nuclear spins of an NMR active nucleus placed in a strong magnetic field, we can study the chemical environment of these atoms. This information allows us to identify molecules, find their chemical structure and study their physical properties (conformation, solubility, reactivity, thermodynamic behaviour). There are an expanding variety of NMR experiments in liquid or solid phase which allow quantification of structural or dynamic parameters. The NMR Centre specialises only in liquid phase techniques.

Location

The NMR Centre is located between two laboratories (L0.17 - L0.18) in the CSCB building. It comprises five Varian/Agilent NMR spectrometers using VnmrJ4 software as operating systems.

Open access to NMR spectrometers

There is access for trained users to three Varian Spectrometers in the School of Chemistry NMR Centre:

1. Varian VnmrS 300 MHz spectrometer

The Varian VnmrS 300 MHz spectrometer, equipped with an Auto-Switchable 4 Nucleus probe and an autosampler with 100 slots, is available 24/7 in room L0.17 to School of Chemistry Stage 4 undergrads, postgrads and postdocs for short ¹H, ³¹P, ¹⁹F experiments in order to identify the purity and composition of their samples. It is also possible to run overnight (¹H, ¹³C, COSY, HSQC, HMBC) experiments.

2) Varian VnmrS 400 MHz spectrometer

The Varian VnmrS 400 MHz spectrometer, equipped with an auto-tuneable broadband probe and an autosampler with 50 slots, is available 24/7 in the room L0.17 to the School of Chemistry Stage 4 undergrad project students, postgrads and postdocs for 1D (¹H, ¹³C, ³¹P, ¹⁹F, ¹¹B) and 2D (COSY, TOCSY, HSQC, HMBC) experiments to determine the molecular structure of the compounds in solution.

3) Varian VnmrS 500 MHz spectrometer

The Varian VnmrS 500 MHz spectrometer possesses an indirect detection probe and an autosampler with 50 slots and is available only during working hours in room L0.18 to School of Chemistry postgrads and postdocs for 1D(¹H, ¹³C) and 2D (COSY, TOCSY, HSQC, HMBC, NOESY) experiments determining molecular structure or the conformation of the compound in solution.

Agilent DD2 500 MHz

This spectrometer is equipped with an Agilent DD2 console, OneNMR and AutoX-ID probes and a Variable Temperature kit for variable temperature experiments between -80C and +90C. It is only accessible to School of Chemistry NMR staff. It is used for special experiments which require NMR expertise in the design of experiments such as variable temperature studies or non-routine sequences (see NMR Sample Request Form). This system has been financed with the help of SFI (SFI Research Infrastructure 2012 - Proposal ID: 12/RI/2341) and it is available to industrial customers nationwide. Charges apply per sample but discounts are available for SFI customers. Contact (opens in a new window)Dr. Yannick Ortin for an cost estimate.

Varian VnmrS 600 MHz

This spectrometer is equipped with a Varian VnmrS console, triple resonance HCX (X= 31P to 15N) or Indirect Detection HX (X= 31P to 15N) probes and a Variable Temperature kit for experiments between -20C and +50C. It is only accessible to School of Chemistry NMR staff. It is used for special experiments which require NMR expertise such as variable temperature experiments or non-routine sequences (see NMR Sample Request Form).

NMR Experiments available:

1H: Normal Proton
13C: Normal Carbon
COSY: (Correlation Spectroscopy)
TOCSY: (Total Correlated Spectroscopy)
HMQC: (Heteronuclear Multiple Quantum Correlation)
HSQC: (Heteronuclear Single Quantum Correlation)
HMBC: (Heteronuclear Multiple Bond Correlation)
NOESY: (Nuclear Overhauser Effect Spectroscopy)