Editing Xenon (section)

=== NMR spectroscopy ===
Because of the xenon atom's large, flexible outer electron shell, the [[nuclear magnetic resonance|NMR]] spectrum changes in response to surrounding conditions and can be used to monitor the surrounding chemical circumstances. For instance, xenon dissolved in water, xenon dissolved in hydrophobic solvent, and xenon associated with certain proteins can be distinguished by NMR.<ref>{{cite journal
| journal = Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry
| volume  = 27
| issue   = 10
| pages   = 950–52
| doi     = 10.1002/mrc.1260271009
| title   = Interpretation of the solvent effect on the screening constant of Xe-129
| author  = Luhmer, M.
| date    = 1989
| last2   = Dejaegere
| first2  = A.
| last3   = Reisse
| first3  = J.
| s2cid   = 95432492
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| author     = Rubin, Seth M.
| author2    = Spence, Megan M.
| author3    = Goodson, Boyd M.
| author4    = Wemmer, David E.
| author5    = Pines, Alexander
| title      = Evidence of nonspecific surface interactions between laser-polarized xenon and myoglobin in solution
| journal    = [[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA]]
| date       = August 15, 2000
| volume     = 97
| pmid       = 10931956
| issue      = 17
| pmc        = 16888
| pages      = 9472–5
| doi        = 10.1073/pnas.170278897
| bibcode    = 2000PNAS...97.9472R
| doi-access = free
}}</ref>

Hyperpolarized xenon can be used by [[Surface science|surface chemists]]. Normally, it is difficult to characterize surfaces with NMR because signals from a surface are overwhelmed by signals from the atomic nuclei in the bulk of the sample, which are much more numerous than surface nuclei. However, nuclear spins on solid surfaces can be selectively polarized by [[Proton Enhanced Nuclear Induction Spectroscopy|transferring spin polarization to them]] from hyperpolarized xenon gas. This makes the surface signals strong enough to measure and distinguish from bulk signals.<ref>{{cite journal
| doi     = 10.1021/ja972035d
| title   = Optical Pumping and Magic Angle Spinning: Sensitivity and Resolution Enhancement for Surface NMR Obtained with Laser-Polarized Xenon
| date    = 1997
| author  = Raftery, Daniel
| author2 = MacNamara, Ernesto
| author3 = Fisher, Gregory
| author4 = Rice, Charles V.
| author5 = Smith, Jay
| journal = Journal of the American Chemical Society
| volume  = 119
| issue   = 37
| pages   = 8746–47
| bibcode = 1997JAChS.119.8746R
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| author  = Gaede, H. C.
| author2 = Song, Y. -Q.
| author3 = Taylor, R. E.
| author4 = Munson, E. J.
| author5 = Reimer, J. A.
| author6 = Pines, A.
| s2cid   = 34971961
| doi     = 10.1007/BF03162652
| title   = High-field cross polarization NMR from laser-polarized xenon to surface nuclei
| date    = 1995
| journal = Applied Magnetic Resonance
| volume  = 8
| issue   = 3–4
| pages   = 373–84
}}</ref>