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Updated: Apr 5, 2026

Atomic Scale Structural Studies of Macromolecular Assemblies by Solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Published on: September 17, 2017
Observation of Optical Chemical Shift by Precision Nuclear Spin Optical Rotation Measurements and Calculations
Junhui Shi, Suvi Ikäläinen1, Juha Vaara2
1‡Department of Chemistry, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16100, FI-00076 Finland.
Abstract:
Nuclear spin optical rotation (NSOR) is a recently developed technique for detection of nuclear magnetic resonance via rotation of light polarization, instead of the usual long-range magnetic fields. NSOR signals depend on hyperfine interactions with virtual optical excitations, giving new information about the nuclear chemical environment. We use a multipass optical cell to perform the first precision measurements of NSOR signals for a range of organic liquids and find clear distinction between proton signals for different compounds, in agreement with our earlier theoretical predictions. Detailed first-principles quantum mechanical NSOR calculations are found to be in agreement with the measurements.
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