The unique high-resolution feature offered by
14N magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy of ammoniumions has been used to characterize the crystal structures of various ammonium molybdates by their
14N quadrupolecoupling parameters, i.e.,
CQ, the quadrupole coupling constant, and
Q, the asymmetry parameter. Two polymorphsof diammonium monomolybdate, (NH
4)
2MoO
4, recently structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction(XRD) and named
mS60 and
mP60, show distinct but different
14N MAS NMR spectra from each of which two setsof characteristic
14N
CQ and
Q values have been obtained. Similarly, the well-characterized ammoniumpolymolybdates (NH
4)
2Mo
2O
7, (NH
4)
6Mo
7O
24·4H
2O, and (NH
4)
6Mo
8O
27·4H
2O also give rise to distinct and characteristic
14N MAS NMR spectra. In particular, it is noted that simulation of the experimental (NH
4)
6Mo
7O
24·4H
2O spectrumrequires an iterative fit with six independent NH
4+ sites. For the slow spinning frequencies employed (
r = 1500-3000 Hz), all
14N MAS NMR spectra of the ammonium molybdates in this study are fingerprints of their identity.These different
14N MAS NMR fingerprints are shown to be an efficient tool in qualitative and quantitative assessmentof the decomposition of (NH
4)
2MoO
4 in humid air. Finally, by a combination of the
14N and
95Mo MAS NMR experimentsperformed here, it has become clear that a recent report of the
95Mo MAS spectra and data for the
mS60 and
mP60 polymorphs of (NH
4)
2MoO
4 are erroneous because the sample examined had decomposed to (NH
4)
2Mo
2O
7.