Nuclear magnetic resonance study of the ferroelastic phase transition of order-disorder type in [N(C2H5)4]2CdCl4

•nuclear magnetic resonance in [N(C2H5)4]2CdCl4.•ferroelastic phase transition.•orientational ordering of [N(C2H5)4]+ cations.

This study uses nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques to examine the detailed changes in [N(C2H5)4]2CdCl4 around its phase transition at the temperature TC = 284 K. The chemical shifts and spin-lattice relaxation times in the rotating frame (T1ρ) were determined from 1H magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR and 13C cross-polarization (CP)/MAS NMR spectra. The two sets of inequivalent 1H and 13C nuclei in CH3 and CH2 were distinguished. A ferroelastic phase transition was observed at TC, without structural symmetry change. The phase transition is mainly attributed to the orientational ordering of the [N(C2H5)4]+ cations, and the spectral splitting at low temperature is associated with different ferroelastic domains.

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