Principles of ESR Spectroscopy

Abstract

This chapter presents the background, nomenclature, and theory of ESR spectroscopy. It is written as a necessary introduction for readers who are not familiar with the ESR techniques and ESR literature. The basic interpretation of ESR spectra requires understanding of quantum mechanics and the use of matrix, vector, and tensor calculations. We have attempted to present this material with a minimum of mathematical treatment. Polymer chemists who are interested in carrying out experiments in ESR spectroscopy are advised to improve their knowledge by reading some of the review papers^{20, 87, 105, 147, 291, 333, 448, 554, 556, 585, 595, 648, 676, 691, 713, 716, 765, 768, 791, 798, 833, 880, 881, 906, 921, 962, 972, 1073, 1074, 1085, 1124, 1128, 1129, 1163, 1175, 1277, 1299, 1331, 1408, 1422, 1448, 1458, 1526, 1575, 1595, 1805–1807, 1810, 1844, 1911, 1917, 1918, 1921, 2048, 2070, 2092, 2335, 2404, 2430, 2456)} and monographs^{33, 40, 84, 89, 107, 109, 217, 234, 394, 472, 625, 758–760, 886, 894, 898, 1300, 1324, 1387, 1446, 1447, 1457, 1552, 1617, 1643, 1660, 1690, 1760, 1761, 1763, 1770, 1910, 1919, 1920, 1924, 1950, 2024, 2046, 2066, 2067, 2103, 2340, 2405, 2417, 2489)}.