A Nuclear Singlet Lifetime of More than One Hour in Room-Temperature Solution

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are supremely important techniques with numerous applications in almost all branches of science. However, until recently, NMR methodology was limited by the time constant T₁ for the decay of nuclear spin magnetization through contact with the thermal molecular environment. Long-lived states, which are correlated quantum states of multiple nuclei, have decay time constants that may exceed T₁ by large factors. Here we demonstrate a nuclear long-lived state comprising two ¹³C nuclei with a lifetime exceeding one hour in room-temperature solution, which is around 50 times longer than T₁. This behavior is well-predicted by a combination of quantum theory, molecular dynamics, and quantum chemistry. Such ultra-long-lived states are expected to be useful for the transport and application of nuclear hyperpolarization, which leads to NMR and MRI signals enhanced by up to five orders of magnitude.