Melting of Naphthalene Confined in Mesoporous Silica MCM-41

The 2H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) solid-echo spectra of naphthalene molecules as guests in the mesopores of neat MCM-41 with a pore width of 3.3 nm were measured in the temperature regime from 180 to 250 K. A strong reduction of the melting point of the naphthalene molecules by 152 K is observed. The line shape changes in the melting region were simulated with two different models, namely, the model of a narrow distribution of activation energies, which is typical for a crystal-like phase, and a two-phase model. Both models indicate a relatively narrow distribution of melting points of the naphthalene molecules inside the pores, indicative of a rather well-defined structure of the naphthalene molecules inside the pores. This finding supports the proposal of a plastic crystalline phase previously proposed by other groups.