Application of NMR Spectroscopy to the Science and Technology of Glasses and Ceramics

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the recent advances in the applications of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to the sciences and technologies of glasses and ceramics from the viewpoint of the materials scientist. NMR is useful in the structure determination of amorphous materials and glasses, for which the diffraction methods are less effective. Information on the structure is essential to understand the properties of solid materials. Identification and quantization of various types of silicate anions, by reliable experiments, have long been an important problem in glass science and mineralogy. 29 Si MAS-NMR enables one to evaluate the distribution of silicate anions in the materials. A considerable effort has been concentrated to elucidate the relation between the chemical shift values of 29 Si in Q 4 units and their structural characteristics. The distribution of silicate structures in silicate glasses, by using 29 Si MAS-NMR, is discussed in the chapter. Distribution in polyphosphate anions in a particular phosphate glass is estimated, by applying chromatographic methods, in which dissolution of the glass into aqueous solution is unavoidable. The application of NMR imaging as a nondestructive technique to detect physical flaws in green state fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composites is also discussed in this chapter.