Tunnelling magnetic resonances: Dynamic nuclear polarisation and the diffusion of methyl group tunnelling energy

The dynamic nuclear polarisation (DNP) of 1 H spins arising from methyl tunnelling magnetic resonances has been investigated in copper-doped zinc acetate dihydrate using field-cycling NMR spectroscopy at 4.2 K. The tunnel resonances appear in the field range 20–50 mT and trace out the envelope of the electron spin resonance spectrum of the Cu 2+ ion impurities. By investigating the DNP line shapes as a function of time, the cooling of the methyl tunnel reservoir has been probed. The role of spectral diffusion of tunnelling energy in determining the DNP line shapes has been investigated through experiments and numerical simulations based on a theoretical model that describes the time evolution of the 1 H polarisation and the tunnelling temperature. The model is discussed in detail in comparison with the experiments. All effects have been studied as a function of Cu 2+ ion concentration.