UC Davis

This chapter covers recent developments in 17O NMR spectroscopy as applied to discrete metal oxide clusters, particularly in the context of their use as models in geochemistry and catalysis. Dynamic 17O NMR methods based on the McConnell–Bloch equations are explored in depth, and recent advances are reviewed. High-pressure NMR methods are also discussed and reviewed, as are recent developments in the use of density functional theory in the computation of 17O NMR shifts in polyoxometalates. The emphasis of the chapter is on the new developments that promise to reinvigorate 17O NMR as a central tool in the study of aqueous chemical kinetics, with the most urgent challenges being understanding the rates of isotopic substitution into bridging oxygens in clusters.