Abstract 

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy will be introduced as a powerful set of tools for understanding materials at the atomic and molecular levels. This lecture will present the fundamental principles of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, with an emphasis on their relevance and applications in materials science. The lecture will begin with a brief historical overview, starting with the discovery of electron spin and then the discovery of nuclear spin, establishing the physical foundations of magnetic resonance. The Zeeman effect will then be introduced as the key mechanism governing spin-energy-level splitting in external magnetic fields. Building on these fundamentals, the basic concept of spectroscopy will be discussed, highlighting how different spectroscopic techniques probe matter through distinct physical interactions. 

A concise overview of widely used spectroscopic methods including UV–Vis, XPS, FT-IR, Raman, NMR, and EPR will be presented to place magnetic resonance techniques within the broader landscape of materials characterization. Particular attention will be given to the unique advantages of NMR and EPR, such as their non-destructive nature, element-specific sensitivity, and ability to provide local chemical, structural, and dynamic information. 

The second part of the lecture will focus on applications of NMR and EPR in materials science, with selected examples from solar energy conversion and storage, catalysis, membranes, and porous materials. These examples will illustrate how magnetic resonance techniques can probe local environments, defects, active sites, molecular transport, and structure–property relationships that are often inaccessible using other characterization methods. 

The lecture will also introduce the NMR facilities available at the NMR Core Lab at KAUST, highlighting current capabilities and opportunities for collaborative research. The session will conclude with a practical discussion on how to select appropriate spectroscopic techniques, addressing when, why, and how NMR and EPR can be most effectively used for materials characterization.

Biography