Affiliation: | a Department of Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA * Chemistry and Biology Research Institute, Central Experimental Farm - Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A OC6, Canada |
Abstract: | Peat samples from three locations in Quebec, Canada, were characterized by 13C CP/MAS n.m.r. spectroscopy. The n.m.r. analysis indicates that the peats contain a significant amount of unaltered plant components including cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, waxes and resins. Integration of specific regions of the spectra can give semi-quantitative estimates of some of these plant components and, in limited cases, information about the degree of decomposition can be obtained from the 13C CP/MAS n.m.r. spectrum. Dipolar dephasing experiments and difference spectroscopy were found to be valuable techniques for spectra assignments and enhancement of compositional differences. |