Study of phase transition mechanisms in [N(CH3)4]2ZnCl4 by static NMR and MAS NMR

•The 1H and 13C in [N(CH3)4]2ZnCl4 by single-crystal NMR and MAS NMR.•Two chemically inequivalent types of N(CH3)4 ions.•The existence of the ferroelastic characteristic of the N(CH3)4 ions.

The temperature dependences of chemical shifts, intensities, the spin-lattice relaxation time in laboratory frame T1, and in rotating frame T1ρ were measured for 1H and 13C in [N(CH3)4]2ZnCl4 by single-crystal NMR and MAS NMR. The unit cell in phase I contains two chemically inequivalent types of N(CH3)4 ions. However, the two chemically different ions N(CH3)4 cannot be practically identified from the 13C NMR spectrum. The structural changes for 1H and 13C were measured near Ti and TC4. The existence of chemically equivalent N(CH3)4 ions in phase I and the existence of the ferroelastic characteristic of the N(CH3)4 ions in phases IV and V are discussed.

Graphical abstractThe temperature dependences of chemical shifts, intensities, the spin-lattice relaxation time in laboratory frame T1, and in rotating frame T1ρ were measured for 1H and 13C in [N(CH3)4]2ZnCl4 by single-crystal NMR and MAS NMR.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide