Removing magnetic field noise from NMR spectra: Reference deconvolution revisited

Reference deconvolution, a powerful mathematical tool for removing the effects of imperfections of the main magnetic field on NMR spectra, is revisited in the context of strong static and dynamic field perturbations. The theoretical basis and experimental evidence for the high efficiency of reference deconvolution for strong magnetic field distortions in basic liquid-state one- and two-dimensional NMR are given. In particular, in 2D NMR, we utilise our observation that a strong static inhomogeneity of the main magnetic field suppresses anti-echo coherence transfer contributions, enabling reference deconvolution to be applied to the remaining echo contributions, in each indirect increment separately, in a manner similar to 1D NMR. We show that, in both 1D and 2D NMR, reference deconvolution enables one to remove the vibrational artefacts of cold head operation in cryogen-free magnets. This extends the applicability of reference deconvolution in multi-dimensional NMR and advances cryogen-free technology in liquid-state NMR.