Translational and rotational motion of isolated water molecules in nitromethane studied using ¹⁷O NMR

The reorientational correlation time and translational diffusion of H₂¹⁷O in nitromethane were measured using ¹⁷O longitudinal relaxation and pulsed-gradient spin-echo NMR diffusion measurements, respectively in the temperature range of 260-314 K. The use of ¹⁷O NMR relaxation and diffusion measurements allow a single isotopomer of water to be unambiguously studied. The results show that the absence of hydrogen bonds between water molecules results in a profound change in its molecular dynamic behavior, as is demonstrated by its greatly increased diffusion coefficient compared with pure water.