Environmental applications of fast field-cycling NMR relaxometry

Abstract

Environmental sustainability is the modern scientific-field key word. This is because a novel awareness about environmental safety occurred since the “Rio Declaration on Environment and Development” was produced in 1992. For this reason, new and environmentally sustainable analytical techniques have been (and still are) produced. The main focus of these techniques is not only the use of “green” chemicals (i.e. chemical compounds showing low environmental impact), but also the waste reduction through the simplification of the analytical procedures such as extractions and purifications. In particular, the modern analytical trend is to find procedures which allow investigation of complex systems as a whole. Fast field cycling (FFC) NMR relaxometry is becoming a very reliable technique for the evaluation of the molecular dynamics in soils, sediments and water. It may allow the understanding of the fate of environmental contaminants, as well as the mechanisms of nutrient exchange between soils and plant roots. This chapter reports the latest findings about FFC NMR relaxometry applied to samples from the aforementioned environmental compartments, and the main mathematical models used for data elaboration in the environmental field applications.