Natural Abundance N-15 NMR of the Solids from the Reaction of HCN and Ammonia

Abstract

Natural-abundance cross-polarization 15N NMR spectra of the complex solids from the reaction of HCN and ammonia have been obtained at 9.12 MHz with magic-angle sample spinning at 1.5 kHz. The spectra are interpreted in terms of the relative concentrations of nitrile-, aromatic-, amide-, urea-, and ammonia-like nitrogen present. The spectrum of the water-insoluble polymeric fraction of the reaction products shows a diversity of nitrogen functionality as broad as that observed for an isolated bacterial RNA.