Diffusion NMR methods applied to xenon gas for materials study

We report initial NMR studies of (i) xenon gas diffusion in model heterogeneous porous media and (ii) continuous flow laser-polarized xenon gas. Both areas utilize the pulsed gradient spin-echo (PGSE) techniques in the gas phase, with the aim of obtaining more sophisticated information than just translational self-diffusion coefficients--a brief overview of this area is provided in the Introduction. The heterogeneous or multiple-length scale model porous media consisted of random packs of mixed glass beads of two different sizes. We focus on observing the approach of the time-dependent gas diffusion coefficient, D(t) (an indicator of mean squared displacement), to the long-time asymptote, with the aim of understanding the long-length scale structural information that may be derived from a heterogeneous porous system. We find that D(t) of imbibed xenon gas at short diffusion times is similar for the mixed bead pack and a pack of the smaller sized beads alone, hence reflecting the pore surface area to volume ratio of the smaller bead sample. The approach of D(t) to the long-time limit follows that of a pack of the larger sized beads alone, although the limiting D(t) for the mixed bead pack is lower, reflecting the lower porosity of the sample compared to that of a pack of mono-sized glass beads. The Pade approximation is used to interpolate D(t) data between the short- and long-time limits. Initial studies of continuous flow laser-polarized xenon gas demonstrate velocity-sensitive imaging of much higher flows than can generally be obtained with liquids (20-200 mm s-1). Gas velocity imaging is, however, found to be limited to a resolution of about 1 mm s-1 owing to the high diffusivity of gases compared with liquids. We also present the first gas-phase NMR scattering, or diffusive-diffraction, data, namely flow-enhanced structural features in the echo attenuation data from laser-polarized xenon flowing through a 2 mm glass bead pack. c2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.