The effect of several new homonuclear dipolar decoupling methods (frequency
-switching Lee-Goldburg decoupling and two sequences based on z-rotational
decoupling) on the C-13 spectra of liquid crystals has been studied, and th
e results are compared with those obtained by using two well-established me
thods (MREV-8 and BLEW-48). For benzene dissolved in two liquid crystalline
solvents, BLEW-48 gives the best spectral resolution. The BLEW-48 sequence
has also been applied to the 2D method of proton-encoded local field (PELF
) spectroscopy to study a bulk liquid crystal, 4-n-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl
(5CB). The results are compared with those obtained by using MREV-8, and it
is suggested that the BLEW-48 sequence may be preferable to MREV-8 for app
lication in the PELF method. (C) 1999 Academic Press.