Confinement Effect on Dipole-Dipole Interactions in Nanofluids
Jonathan Baugh,1
Alfred Kleinhammes,1
Daxing Han,1
Qi Wang,2
Yue Wu1*
Intermolecular dipole-dipole interactions were once
thought to average to zero in gases and liquids as a result of rapid
molecular motion that leads to sharp nuclear magnetic resonance lines.
Recent papers have shown that small residual couplings survive the
motional averaging if the magnetization is nonuniform or nonspherical. Here, we show that a much larger, qualitatively different
intermolecular dipolar interaction remains in nanogases and nanoliquids
as an effect of confinement. The dipolar coupling that characterizes such interactions is identical for all spin pairs and depends on the
shape, orientation (with respect to the external magnetic field), and
volume of the gas/liquid container. This nanoscale effect is useful in
the determination of nanostructures and could have unique applications
in the exploration of quantum space.
1 Department of Physics and Astronomy,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3255, USA.
2 National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO
80401, USA.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
yuewu{at}physics.unc.edu
