A simple model for heteronuclear spin decoupling in solid-state NMR

We propose a simple model to describe heteronuclear spin decoupling in solid-state NMR under magic-angle sample spinning (MAS). It is based on a coherent description of two heteronuclear dipolar-coupled spins (I and S) and an incoherent description of the interaction of the I-spin with a large number of other I-spins. The abundant and strongly coupled I-spins are irradiated. The selected I-spin is coupled by a spin-diffusion type superoperator to the I-spin bath, and this coupling is described by a single spin-diffusion rate constant. Such a model allows us to simulate efficiently the behavior of a spin system under heteronuclear decoupling in the case of CW irradiation as well as in the case of phase-modulated sequences such as TPPM. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.