113Cd NMR studies of Hofmann-type clathrates and related compounds: Evidence for two room temperature orientational glasses

113Cd magic angle spinning NMR, with and without 1H cross-polarisation and decoupling, has been used to study a number of Hofmann-type clathrates and related compounds. The 113Cd chemical shift shows a great sensitivity to the environment of Cd, even for complexes with closely related structures. The presence of five resonances due to Cd surrounded by CxN(4–x) (where x = 0 to 4) in Cd(CN)2 and Cd(CN)2•C6H12 indicates a static disorder of the CN groups, which makes these materials orientational glasses.