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Kalutantirige FC, He J, Yao L, Cotty S, Zhou S, Smith JW, Tajkhorshid E, Schroeder CM, Moore JS, An H, Su X, Li Y, Chen Q. Beyond nothingness in the formation and functional relevance of voids in polymer films. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2852. [PMID: 38605028 PMCID: PMC11009415 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46584-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Voids-the nothingness-broadly exist within nanomaterials and impact properties ranging from catalysis to mechanical response. However, understanding nanovoids is challenging due to lack of imaging methods with the needed penetration depth and spatial resolution. Here, we integrate electron tomography, morphometry, graph theory and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation to study the formation of interconnected nanovoids in polymer films and their impacts on permeance and nanomechanical behaviour. Using polyamide membranes for molecular separation as a representative system, three-dimensional electron tomography at nanometre resolution reveals nanovoid formation from coalescence of oligomers, supported by coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. Void analysis provides otherwise inaccessible inputs for accurate fittings of methanol permeance for polyamide membranes. Three-dimensional structural graphs accounting for the tortuous nanovoids within, measure higher apparent moduli with polyamide membranes of higher graph rigidity. Our study elucidates the significance of nanovoids beyond the nothingness, impacting the synthesis‒morphology‒function relationships of complex nanomaterials.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jinlong He
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Lehan Yao
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Stephen Cotty
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Shan Zhou
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - John W Smith
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Emad Tajkhorshid
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- NIH Resource for Macromolecular Modelling and Visualization, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Charles M Schroeder
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Jeffrey S Moore
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Hyosung An
- Department of Petrochemical Materials Engineering, Chonnam National University, Yeosu, Jeollanam-do, 59631, South Korea
| | - Xiao Su
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Ying Li
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
| | - Qian Chen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
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