A solid-state NMR study of water in poly(vinyl butyral) by magic angle spinning

Poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB) with different wt% water was studied gravimetrically as well as with H-1 magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The composition of PVB samples changes during MAS NMR because of the centrifugal force. As MAS time progresses, initially free water was removed fast but bound water also was gradually depleted. More water was diminished at faster spinning speeds, longer spinning time, higher temperatures, and higher initial water contents. As water in PVB was reduced, the chemical shifts and line widths of different types of water and also those of PVB changed. Our results demonstrate that H-1 MAS NMR carried out at 10 kHz in less than about 5 minutes is a convenient and sensitive technique to measure: (a) the content variations of different types of water in polymers, (b) the degree of the interaction of water and polymer, and (c) the molecular dynamics of the polymer. Our study can be extended to different soft polymers with other small molecules than water in them.