129Xe NMR Studies of Xenon Adsorption

Original ideas based on NMR spectroscopy of the probe molecules have become indispensable for characterisation of porous materials and catalysts. The most important technique has been the Xe-129 NMR of adsorbed xenon. This method including MAS NMR and modern MRI facilities provide unique information on a wide range of objects from atomic to macroscopic scale. Many challenging and fascinating Xe-129 NMR studies, published in a few decades, referred to nanoscale properties of porous media. Basic approaches of Xe-129 NMR of adsorbed Xe developed in the model studies of idealistic, structurally and chemically pure materials should be subject to criticism when a more complex class of objects is considered. This chapter summarises these approaches and compares them with the recent results obtained for micro- and mesoporous carbon materials.