Using metal-organic frameworks to confine liquid samples for nanoscale NV-NMR

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that confining liquid samples within metal-organic frameworks on diamond chips allows for nanoscale NMR spectroscopy of liquids, overcoming molecular diffusion issues and enabling detection of signals from tiny liquid samples.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel method of using MOFs with angstrom-sized pores to confine liquids near NV centers for nanoscale NMR, enabling liquid-phase detection.

Findings

NMR signals from liquids can be detected with confinement.

MOFs effectively trap molecules near NV centers.

This approach enables nanoscale liquid NMR with high spectral resolution.

Abstract

Atomic-scale magnetic field sensors based on nitrogen vacancy (NV) defects in diamonds are an exciting platform for nanoscale nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The detection of NMR signals from a few zeptoliters to single molecules or even single nuclear spins has been demonstrated using NV-centers close to the diamond surface. However, fast molecular diffusion of sample molecules in and out of nanoscale detection volumes impedes their detection and limits current experiments to solid-state or highly viscous samples. Here, we show that restricting diffusion by confinement enables nanoscale NMR spectroscopy of liquid samples. Our approach uses metal-organic frameworks (MOF) with angstrom-sized pores on a diamond chip to trap sample molecules near the NV-centers. This enables the detection of NMR signals from a liquid sample, which would not be detectable without confinement. These results set the route for nanoscale liquid-phase NMR with high spectral resolution.