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Mei B, Moreno AJ, Schweizer KS. Unified Understanding of the Structure, Thermodynamics, and Diffusion of Single-Chain Nanoparticle Fluids. ACS NANO 2024; 18:15529-15544. [PMID: 38842208 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c00226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
Single-chain nanoparticles (SCNPs) are a fascinating class of soft nano-objects with promising properties and relevance to protein condensates, polymer nanocomposites, nanomedicine, bioimaging, catalysis, and drug delivery. We combine molecular dynamics simulations and equilibrium and time-dependent statistical mechanical theory to construct a unified understanding of how the internal conformational structure of SCNPs, of both a simple fractal globule-like form and more complex objects with multiple internal intermediate length scales, determines nm-scale intermolecular packing correlations, thermodynamic properties, and center-of-mass diffusion over a wide range of concentrations up to dense melts. The intermolecular pair correlations generically exhibit a distinctive deep correlation hole form due to SCNP internal connectivity structure and repulsive interparticle interactions associated with a globular-like conformation on the macromolecular scale, with concentration-dependent deviations at small separations. Unanticipated exponential-like dependences of the equation-of-state, osmotic compressibility, and center-of-mass diffusion constant on SCNP macromolecular packing fraction are theoretically predicted and confirmed via simulations. System-specific behaviors are found associated with SCNP internal structure, but overarching regularities are identified and understood based on a generalized effective globule conformation on macromolecular scales. Diffusivity slows down by 2-3 decades with increasing concentration and is understood as a consequence of a nonactivated excluded volume-driven weak-caging process associated with space-time correlated intermolecular forces experienced by the SCNP. Good agreement between the theory and simulations is established, testable predictions are made, and a quantitative comparison with viscosity measurements on a specific SCNP fluid is carried out. The basic theoretical approach can potentially be extended to treat the chemical and physical consequences of varying the structure of other classes of soft nanoparticles with distinctive internal nanoscale organization relevant in nanotechnology and nanomedicine, and the possible emergence of macromolecular kinetically arrested glasses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baicheng Mei
- Department of Materials Science, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Angel J Moreno
- Centro de Física de Materiales (CSIC, UPV/EHU) and Materials Physics Center MPC, Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 5, Donostia-San Sebastián E-20018, Spain
- Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 4, Donostia-San Sebastián E-20018, Spain
| | - Kenneth S Schweizer
- Department of Materials Science, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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Chremos A, Horkay F, Douglas JF. Influence of network defects on the conformational structure of nanogel particles: From "closed compact" to "open fractal" nanogel particles. J Chem Phys 2022; 156:094903. [PMID: 35259888 PMCID: PMC8898093 DOI: 10.1063/5.0072274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
We propose an approach to generate a wide range of randomly branched polymeric structures to gain general insights into how polymer topology encodes a configurational structure in solution. Nanogel particles can take forms ranging from relatively symmetric sponge-like compact structures to relatively anisotropic open fractal structures observed in some nanogel clusters and in some self-associating polymers in solutions, such as aggrecan solutions under physiologically relevant conditions. We hypothesize that this broad "spectrum" of branched polymer structures derives from the degree of regularity of bonding in the network defining these structures. Accordingly, we systematically introduce bonding defects in an initially perfect network having a lattice structure in three and two topological dimensions corresponding to "sponge" and "sheet" structures, respectively. The introduction of bonding defects causes these "closed" and relatively compact nanogel particles to transform near a well-defined bond percolation threshold into "open" fractal objects with the inherent anisotropy of randomly branched polymers. Moreover, with increasing network decimation, the network structure of these polymers acquires other configurational properties similar to those of randomly branched polymers. In particular, the mass scaling of the radius of gyration and its eigenvalues, as well as hydrodynamic radius, intrinsic viscosity, and form factor for scattering, all undergo abrupt changes that accompany these topological transitions. Our findings support the idea that randomly branched polymers can be considered to be equivalent to perforated sheets from a "universality class" standpoint. We utilize our model to gain insight into scattering measurements made on aggrecan solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandros Chremos
- Section on Quantitative Imaging and Tissue Sciences, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
| | - Ferenc Horkay
- Section on Quantitative Imaging and Tissue Sciences, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
| | - Jack F. Douglas
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
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Kobernik V, Phatake RS, Tzadikov J, Reany O, Lemcoff NG. Organometallic single-chain polymer nanoparticles via intra-chain cross-linking with dinuclear μ-halo(diene)Rh(I) complexes. REACT FUNCT POLYM 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.reactfunctpolym.2021.104971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Burshtein TY, Agami I, Sananis M, Diesendruck CE, Eisenberg D. Template-Free Formation of Regular Macroporosity in Carbon Materials Made from a Folded Polymer Precursor. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2021; 17:e2100712. [PMID: 33987936 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202100712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Revised: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Porous carbon materials attract great interest in a wide range of applications such as batteries, fuel cells, and membranes, due to their large surface area, structural and compositional tunability, and chemical stability. While micropores are typically obtained when preparing carbon materials by pyrolysis, the fabrication of mesoporous, and especially macroporous carbons is more challenging, yet important for enhancing mass transport. Herein, template-free regular macroporous carbons are prepared from a mixture of unfolded (linear) and folded (single-chain nanoparticles, SCNP) polyvinylpyrrolidone chains. While having the same chemical composition, the different molecular architectures lead to phase separation even before pyrolysis, creating a dense cell architecture, which is retained upon carbonization. Upon increasing the SCNP content, the homogeneity of the pore network increases and the specific surface area is enlarged 3-5-fold, until ideal properties are obtained at 75% SCNP, as observed by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy and N2 physisorption porosimetry. The materials are further investigated as hydrazine oxidation electrocatalysts, demonstrating the link between the evolving morphology and current density. Importantly, this study demonstrates the role of polymer architecture in macroporosity templating in carbon materials, providing a new approach to develop complex carbon architectures without the need for external templating.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomer Y Burshtein
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry and the Grand Technion Energy Program, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Iris Agami
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry and the Grand Technion Energy Program, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Matan Sananis
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry and the Grand Technion Energy Program, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Charles E Diesendruck
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry and the Grand Technion Energy Program, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - David Eisenberg
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry and the Grand Technion Energy Program, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
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Kobernik V, Berkovich I, Levy A, Lemcoff NG, Diesendruck CE. Chemical Communication between Organometallic Single‐Chain Polymer Nanoparticles. Chemistry 2020; 26:15835-15838. [DOI: 10.1002/chem.202003330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Revised: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Kobernik
- Department of Chemistry Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Beer-Sheva 84105 Israel
| | - Inbal Berkovich
- Department of Chemistry Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Beer-Sheva 84105 Israel
| | - Avishai Levy
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry and Russell-Berrie Nanotechnology Center Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Haifa 32000 Israel
| | - N. Gabriel Lemcoff
- Department of Chemistry Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Beer-Sheva 84105 Israel
| | - Charles E. Diesendruck
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry and Russell-Berrie Nanotechnology Center Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Haifa 32000 Israel
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Zhang X, Vidavsky Y, Aharonovich S, Yang SJ, Buche MR, Diesendruck CE, Silberstein MN. Bridging experiments and theory: isolating the effects of metal-ligand interactions on viscoelasticity of reversible polymer networks. SOFT MATTER 2020; 16:8591-8601. [PMID: 32785407 DOI: 10.1039/d0sm01115k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Polymer networks cross-linked by reversible metal-ligand interactions possess versatile mechanical properties achieved simply by varying the metal species and quantity. Although prior experiments have revealed the dependence of the network's viscoelastic behavior on the dynamics of metal-ligand interaction, a theoretical framework with quantitative relations that would enable efficient material design, is still lacking. One major challenge is isolating the effect of metal-ligand interaction from other factors in the polymer matrix. To address this challenge, we designed a linear precursor free from solvents, chain entanglements and polymer-metal phase separation to ensure that relaxation of the network is mainly governed by the dissociation and association of the metal-ligand cross-links. The rheological behavior of the networks was thoroughly characterized regarding the changes in cross-link density, binding stoichiometry and coordination stability, allowing quantitative comparison between experimental results and the sticky Rouse model. Through this process, we noticed that the presence of reversible cross-links increases the network modulus at high frequency compared to the linear polymer, and that the effective metal-ligand dissociation time increases dramatically with increasing the cross-link density. Informed by these findings, we modified the expression of the sticky Rouse model. For the polymer in which the metal center and ligands bond in a paired association, the relaxation follows our enhanced sticky Rouse model. For the polymer in which each reversible cross-link consists of multiple metal centers and ligands, the relaxation timescale is significantly extended due to greater restriction on the polymer chains. This systematic study bridges experiments and theory, providing deeper understanding of the mechanical properties of metallopolymers and facilitating material design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyue Zhang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - Yuval Vidavsky
- Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
| | - Sinai Aharonovich
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel
| | - Steven J Yang
- Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
| | - Michael R Buche
- Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
| | - Charles E Diesendruck
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel
| | - Meredith N Silberstein
- Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
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Suppression of Hydrophobic Recovery in Photo-Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition. Catalysts 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/catal10050534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Photo-initiated chemical vapor deposition (PICVD) functionalizes carbon nanotube (CNT)-enhanced porous substrates with a highly polar polymeric nanometric film, rendering them super-hydrophilic. Despite its ability to generate fully wettable surfaces at low temperatures and atmospheric pressure, PICVD coatings normally undergo hydrophobic recovery. This is a process by which a percentage of oxygenated functional group diffuse/re-arrange from the top layer of the deposited film towards the bulk of the substrate, taking the induced hydrophilic property of the material with them. Thus, hydrophilicity decreases over time. To address this, a vertical chemical gradient (VCG) can be deposited onto the CNT-substrate. The VCG consists of a first, thicker highly cross-linked layer followed by a second, thinner highly functionalized layer. In this article, we show, through water contact angle and XPS measurements, that the increased cross-linking density of the first layer can reduce the mobility of polar functional groups, forcing them to remain at the topmost layer of the PICVD coating and to suppress hydrophobic recovery. We show that employing a bi-layer VCG suppresses hydrophobic recovery for five days and reduces its effect afterwards (contact angle stabilizes to 42 ± 1° instead of 125 ± 3°).
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Levy A, Goldstein H, Brenman D, Diesendruck CE. Effect of intramolecular crosslinker properties on the mechanochemical fragmentation of covalently folded polymers. JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/pol.20190217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Avishai Levy
- Schulich Faculty of ChemistryTechnion – Israel Institute of Technology Haifa 3200008 Israel
| | - Hadar Goldstein
- Schulich Faculty of ChemistryTechnion – Israel Institute of Technology Haifa 3200008 Israel
| | - Dolev Brenman
- Schulich Faculty of ChemistryTechnion – Israel Institute of Technology Haifa 3200008 Israel
| | - Charles E. Diesendruck
- Schulich Faculty of ChemistryTechnion – Israel Institute of Technology Haifa 3200008 Israel
- Russell‐Berrie Nanotechnology InstituteTechnion – Israel Institute of Technology Haifa 3200003 Israel
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Bipyridine-based polybenzimidazole membranes with outstanding hydrogen fuel cell performance at high temperature and non-humidifying conditions. J Memb Sci 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2019.117354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Harris JM, Bentley MD, Moreadith RW, Viegas TX, Fang Z, Yoon K, Weimer R, Dizman B, Nordstierna L. Tuning drug release from polyoxazoline-drug conjugates. Eur Polym J 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2019.109241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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Levy A, Feinstein R, Diesendruck CE. Mechanical Unfolding and Thermal Refolding of Single-Chain Nanoparticles Using Ligand–Metal Bonds. J Am Chem Soc 2019; 141:7256-7260. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.9b01960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Avishai Levy
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, Technion − Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200008, Israel
| | - Roi Feinstein
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, Technion − Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200008, Israel
| | - Charles E. Diesendruck
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, Technion − Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200008, Israel
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Aharonovich S, Diesendruck CE. Single chain polymer nanoparticles as shear-resilient viscosity modifiers for lubricating oils. REACT FUNCT POLYM 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.reactfunctpolym.2018.07.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Bae S, Galant O, Diesendruck CE, Silberstein MN. The Effect of Intrachain Cross-Linking on the Thermomechanical Behavior of Bulk Polymers Assembled Solely from Single Chain Polymer Nanoparticles. Macromolecules 2018. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.8b01027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Suwon Bae
- Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850, United States
| | - Or Galant
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry and Russell-Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Charles E. Diesendruck
- Schulich Faculty of Chemistry and Russell-Berrie Nanotechnology Institute, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Meredith N. Silberstein
- Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850, United States
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