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Fu Y, Xiao S, Liu S, Chang Y, Ma R, Zhang Z, He J. Atomistic Insights into the Droplet Size Evolution during Self-Microemulsification. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2022; 38:3129-3138. [PMID: 35238580 PMCID: PMC8928481 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c03099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Revised: 02/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Microemulsions have been attracting great attention for their importance in various fields, including nanomaterial fabrication, food industry, drug delivery, and enhanced oil recovery. Atomistic insights into the self-microemulsifying process and the underlying mechanisms are crucial for the design and tuning of the size of microemulsion droplets toward applications. In this work, coarse-grained models were used to investigate the role that droplet sizes played in the preliminary self-microemulsifying process. Time evolution of liquid mixtures consisting of several hundreds of water/surfactant/oil droplets was resolved in large-scale simulations. By monitoring the size variation of the microemulsion droplets in the self-microemulsifying process, the dynamics of diameter distribution of water/surfactant/oil droplets were studied. The underlying mass transport mechanisms responsible for droplet size evolution and stability were elucidated. Specifically, temperature effects on the droplet size were clarified. This work provides the knowledge of the self-microemulsification of water-in-oil microemulsions at the nanoscale. The results are expected to serve as guidelines for practical strategies for preparing a microemulsion system with desirable droplet sizes and properties.
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Song J, Wan M, Yang Y, Gao L, Fang W. Development of accurate coarse-grained force fields for weakly polar groups by an indirect parameterization strategy. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:6763-6774. [PMID: 33720253 DOI: 10.1039/d1cp00032b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics simulations are widely used to predict morphological structures and interpret mechanisms of mesoscopic behavior between the scope of traditional experiments and all-atom simulations. However, most current CG force fields (FFs) are not precise enough, especially for polar molecules or functional groups. A main obstacle in developing accurate CG FFs for polar molecules is the freezing problem met at room temperature. In this work, we introduce an indirect parametrization strategy for weakly polar groups by considering their short-chain homologs to avoid freezing. Here, a polar group containing three to four heavy atoms is mapped into one CG bead that is connected to one alkyl bead composed of three or four carbons. The CG beads interact via 4-parameter nonbonded Morse potentials and harmonic bonded potentials. An efficient meta-multilinear interpolation parameterization algorithm, as recently developed by us, is used to rigorously optimize the force parameters. Satisfactory accuracy is witnessed in terms of the density, heat of vaporization, surface tension, and solvation free energy of the homologs of twelve polar molecules, all deviating from the experiment by less than 5%. The transferability of the current FF is indicated by the predicted density, heat of vaporization, and end-to-end distance distributions of fatty acid methyl esters composed of multiple functional groups parameterized in this work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junjie Song
- Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Photochemistry, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xin-Jie-Kou-Wai Street, Beijing 100875, China.
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Fu Y, Xiao S, Liu S, Wu J, Wang X, Qiao L, Zhang Z, He J. Stability, deformation and rupture of Janus oligomer enabled self-emulsifying water-in-oil microemulsion droplets. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:24907-24916. [PMID: 33124645 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp03092a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Microemulsions exist widely in nature, daily life and industrial manufacturing processes, including petroleum production, food processing, drug delivery, new material fabrication, sewage treatment, etc. The mechanical properties of microemulsion droplets and a correlation to their molecular structures are of vital importance to those applications. Despite studies on their physicochemical determinants, there are lots of challenges of exploring the mechanical properties of microemulsions by experimental studies. Herein, atomistic modelling was utilized to study the stability, deformation, and rupture of Janus oligomer enabled water-in-oil microemulsion droplets, aiming at revealing their intrinsic relationship with Janus oligomer based surfactants and oil structures. The self-emulsifying process from a water, oil and surfactant mixture to a single microemulsion droplet was modulated by the amphiphilicity and structure of the surfactants. Four microemulsion systems with an interfacial thickness in the range of 7.4-17.3 Å were self-assembled to explore the effect of the surfactant on the droplet morphology. By applying counter forces on the water core and the surfactant shell, the mechanical stability of the microemulsion droplets was probed at different ambient temperatures. A strengthening response and a softening regime before and after a temperature-dependent peak force were identified followed by the final rupture. This work demonstrates a practical strategy to precisely tune the mechanical properties of a single microemulsion droplet, which can be applied in the formation, de-emulsification, and design of microemulsions in oil recovery and production, drug delivery and many other applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuequn Fu
- NTNU Nanomechanical Lab, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim 7491, Norway.
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Zhang T, Hsieh WY, Daneshvar F, Liu C, Rwei SP, Sue HJ. Copper(I)-alkylamine mediated synthesis of copper nanowires. NANOSCALE 2020; 12:17437-17449. [PMID: 32797131 DOI: 10.1039/d0nr04778c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Formation of a Cu(i)-alkylamine complex is found to be the key step for Cu(ii) ions to reduce to Cu(0) in the presence of glucose. Also, alkylamines in Cu nanowire synthesis serve triple roles as a reducing, complexation and capping agent. Alkylamines reduce Cu(ii) to Cu(i) at above 100 °C and protect the Cu(i) by forming a Cu ion-alkylamine coordination complex with a 1 : 2 ratio in an aqueous solution. With respect to the 1 : 2 complex ratio, the additional free alkylamines ensure a stable Cu(i)-alkylamine complex. After completion of Cu(i)-Cu(0) reduction by glucose, alkylamines remain on Cu(0) seeds to regulate the anisotropic growth of Cu nanocrystals. Long-chain (≥C16) alkylamines are found to help produce high-quality Cu nanowires, while short-chain (≤C12) alkylamines only produce CuO products. Furthermore, Cu nanowire synthesis is found to be sensitive to additional chemicals as they may destabilize Cu ion-alkylamine complexes. By comparing the Cu(i)-alkylamine and Maillard reaction mediated mechanism, the complete Cu nanowire synthesis process using glucose is revealed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tan Zhang
- Polymer Technology Center, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
| | - Wen-Yi Hsieh
- Department of Molecular Science and Engineering, Research and Development Center for Smart Textile Technology, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan
| | - Farhad Daneshvar
- Polymer Technology Center, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
| | - Cong Liu
- Polymer Technology Center, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
| | - Syang-Peng Rwei
- Department of Molecular Science and Engineering, Research and Development Center for Smart Textile Technology, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan
| | - Hung-Jue Sue
- Polymer Technology Center, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
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Martzel N, Dequidt A, Devémy J, Blaak R, Garruchet S, Latour B, Goujon F, Munch E, Malfreyt P. Grain Shape Dynamics for Molecular Simulations at the Mesoscale. ADVANCED THEORY AND SIMULATIONS 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/adts.202000124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Martzel
- Manufacture Française des Pneumatiques Michelin Site de Ladoux, 23 Place des Carmes Déchaux, France Cedex 9 Clermont‐Ferrand 63040 France
| | - Alain Dequidt
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, SIGMA Clermont Institut de Chimie de Clermont‐Ferrand Clermont‐Ferrand F‐63000 France
| | - Julien Devémy
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, SIGMA Clermont Institut de Chimie de Clermont‐Ferrand Clermont‐Ferrand F‐63000 France
| | - Ronald Blaak
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, SIGMA Clermont Institut de Chimie de Clermont‐Ferrand Clermont‐Ferrand F‐63000 France
| | - Sebastien Garruchet
- Manufacture Française des Pneumatiques Michelin Site de Ladoux, 23 Place des Carmes Déchaux, France Cedex 9 Clermont‐Ferrand 63040 France
| | - Benoit Latour
- Manufacture Française des Pneumatiques Michelin Site de Ladoux, 23 Place des Carmes Déchaux, France Cedex 9 Clermont‐Ferrand 63040 France
| | - Florent Goujon
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, SIGMA Clermont Institut de Chimie de Clermont‐Ferrand Clermont‐Ferrand F‐63000 France
| | - Etienne Munch
- Manufacture Française des Pneumatiques Michelin Site de Ladoux, 23 Place des Carmes Déchaux, France Cedex 9 Clermont‐Ferrand 63040 France
| | - Patrice Malfreyt
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, SIGMA Clermont Institut de Chimie de Clermont‐Ferrand Clermont‐Ferrand F‐63000 France
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Chakraborty M, Xu J, White AD. Is preservation of symmetry necessary for coarse-graining? Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:14998-15005. [DOI: 10.1039/d0cp02309d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
This work investigates if preserving the symmetry of the underlying molecular graph of a given molecule when choosing a coarse-grained (CG) mapping significantly affects the CG model accuracy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jinyu Xu
- Department of Chemical Engineering
- University of Rochester
- Rochester
- USA
| | - Andrew D. White
- Department of Chemical Engineering
- University of Rochester
- Rochester
- USA
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Islam NN, Sharma A, Gyawali G, Kumar R, Rick SW. Coarse-Grained Models for Constant pH Simulations of Carboxylic Acids. J Chem Theory Comput 2019; 15:4623-4631. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.9b00159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Naeyma N. Islam
- Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, United States
| | - Arjun Sharma
- Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, United States
| | - Gaurav Gyawali
- Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, United States
| | - Revati Kumar
- Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70808, United States
| | - Steven W. Rick
- Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, United States
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Islam N, Flint M, Rick SW. Water hydrogen degrees of freedom and the hydrophobic effect. J Chem Phys 2019; 150:014502. [DOI: 10.1063/1.5053239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Naeyma Islam
- Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, USA
| | - Mahalia Flint
- Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, USA
| | - Steven W. Rick
- Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, USA
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An Y, Bejagam KK, Deshmukh SA. Development of Transferable Nonbonded Interactions between Coarse-Grained Hydrocarbon and Water Models. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:909-921. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b07990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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Coarse-Grained Simulations of Aqueous Thermoresponsive Polyethers. Polymers (Basel) 2018; 10:polym10050475. [PMID: 30966509 PMCID: PMC6415429 DOI: 10.3390/polym10050475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2018] [Revised: 04/11/2018] [Accepted: 04/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Thermoresponsive polymers can change structure or solubility as a function of temperature. Block co-polymers of polyethers have a response that depends on polymer molecular weight and co-polymer composition. A coarse-grained model for aqueous polyethers is developed and applied to polyethylene oxide and polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-polyethylene oxide triblock co-polymers. In this model, no interaction sites on hydrogen atoms are included, no Coulombic interactions are present, and all interactions are short-ranged, treated with a combination of two- and three-body terms. Our simulations find that The triblock co-polymers tend to associate at temperatures above 350 K. The aggregation is stabilized by contact between The hydrophobic methyl groups on The propylene oxide monomers and involves a large, favorable change in entropy.
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Du P, Rick SW, Kumar R. Towards a coarse-grained model of the peptoid backbone: the case of N,N-dimethylacetamide. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018; 20:23386-23396. [DOI: 10.1039/c8cp03283a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Coarse-grained model of DMA, containing the basic motif of the peptoid backbone, based on short ranged many-body ranged interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pu Du
- Department of Chemistry
- Louisiana State University
- Baton Rouge
- USA
| | - Steven W. Rick
- Department of Chemistry
- University of New Orleans
- New Orleans
- USA
| | - Revati Kumar
- Department of Chemistry
- Louisiana State University
- Baton Rouge
- USA
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