CHARMING

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance is a well-established spectroscopic technique in many areas of science, which non-destructively provides atomic-level information on a large range of materials. Its main limitation, however, lies in its intrinsically low sensitivity. This issue could be greatly overcome using dynamic nuclear polarisation (DNP), which enhances nuclear magnetisation through the microwave-driven transfer of electron spin polarisation to nuclei, typically via exogenous paramagnetic centres referred to as polarising agents (PA). Unfortunately, in most cases, the performance of existing PA remains far from the theoretical maximum. This project aims at introducing a novel paradigm in the design of PA by exploiting the tremendous increase in lifetime of transient radicals embedded in nanostructured silicas. Such new materials are tools of choice to investigate DNP from a theoretical and experimental point of view.