Investigation on structural symmetry of CsCoCl₃·2H₂O crystals by magic-angle spinning ¹H and static ¹³³Cs nuclear magnetic resonance

The phase transition temperatures of CsCoCl₃·2H₂O crystals are investigated via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Three endothermic peaks at temperatures of 370 K (=T_C1), 390 K (=T_C2), and 416 K (=T_C3) were observed for phase transitions from CsCoCl₃·2H₂O to CsCoCl₃·1.5H₂O, to CsCoCl₃·H₂O, and then to CsCoCl₃·0.5H₂O, respectively. In addition, the spin-lattice relaxation time T_1ρ in the rotating frame and T₁ in the laboratory frame as well as changes in chemical shifts for ¹H and ¹³³Cs near T_C1 were found to be temperature dependent. Our analyses results indicated that the changes of chemical shifts, T_1ρ, and T₁ are associated with structural phase transitions near temperature T_C1. The changes of chemical shifts, T_1ρ, and T₁ near T_C1 were associated with structural phase transitions, owing to the changes in the symmetry of the structure formed of H₂O and Cs⁺ ions. Consequently, the structural symmetry in CsCoCl₃·2H₂O crystals based on temperature is discussed by the environments of their H and Cs nuclei.