Hydrous aluminosilicate glasses of composition NaAlSiO18 NaAlSi3O8, NaAlSi2
O6, and NaAlSiO4 have been studied with H-1 MAS, and H-1/Al-27 and H-1/Na-2
3 TRAPDOR NMR spectroscopy. Two different environments for molecular water
were identified. Three 1H OH resonances (1.5. ca. 3.5, and 5-6 ppm) are obs
erved in all the glasses. The resonance at 1.5 ppm shows a large H-1-Al-27
dipolar coupling and is assigned an Al(Q(3))-OH group; the concentration of
this species increases with increasing Al content in the glass. The resona
nce at ca. 3.5 ppm is assigned to Si(Q3)-OH units, on the basis of its chem
ical shift, proximity to Na and Al, and the change in the relative intensit
y of the three resonances, with varying Al/Si ratio. The resonance at 5-6 p
pm is assigned to a Q(3)-OH unit that is hydrogen bonded to another oxygen
atom. These assignments imply that the aluminosilicate framework undergoes
depolymerization as an outcome of water dissolution.