1
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Nagasaka M, Kumaki F, Yao Y, Adachi JI, Mochizuki K. Mechanism of poly( N-isopropylacrylamide) cononsolvency in aqueous methanol solutions explored via oxygen K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:13634-13638. [PMID: 38685819 DOI: 10.1039/d4cp00676c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2024]
Abstract
The cononsolvency mechanism of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM), dissolving in pure methanol (MeOH) and water (H2O) but being insoluble in MeOH-H2O mixtures, was investigated by O K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The cononsolvency emerges from the aggregation of PNIPAM with MeOH clusters, leading to the collapse of the hydrophobic hydration of PNIPAM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masanari Nagasaka
- Institute for Molecular Science, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan.
- Molecular Science Program, Graduate Institute for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
| | - Fumitoshi Kumaki
- Photon Factory, Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0801, Japan
| | - Yifeng Yao
- Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310028, P. R. China
| | - Jun-Ichi Adachi
- Photon Factory, Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0801, Japan
- Materials Structure Science Program, Graduate Institute for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0801, Japan
| | - Kenji Mochizuki
- Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310028, P. R. China
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2
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Zhang P, Wang Z, Wang ZG. Conformation Transition of a Homopolymer Chain in Binary Mixed Solvents. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Pengfei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Center for Advanced Low-Dimension Materials, College of Material Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Zheng Wang
- School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Zhen-Gang Wang
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, United States
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3
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Liu B, Yan X, Zhao Z, Wang J, Feng J. Distinctly different solvation behaviors of poly( N, N-diethylacrylamide) gels in water/acetone and water/DMSO mixtures. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:23893-23902. [PMID: 36165400 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp02144g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The solvation behaviors and intermolecular interactions of a poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide) (PDEA) gel network in water/DMSO and water/acetone mixtures have been investigated by variable-temperature high-resolution 1H MAS NMR. Unlike decreasing volume phase transition temperature (VPTT) of the typical thermosensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) gel induced by both acetone and DMSO in a water-rich region, distinct phase transition behaviors are revealed for the PDEA gel. That is, acetone is found to increase the VPTT of PDEA directly in the water-rich region while DMSO is also found to increase the VPTT of PDEA at a very low concentration but then decrease the VPTT as the concentration further increases. The above distinctly different VPTT shifts of PDEA are attributed to the different polymer-cosolvent interactions in water/acetone and water/DMSO systems. DMSO molecules with a strong water affinity are preferentially excluded by the PDEA gel network, and can promote the volume phase transition by favoring the collapse of the PDEA gel network, while acetone molecules preferentially adsorbed on the polymer interact with PDEA via non-specific van der Waals interaction, which favors the swollen state of the PDEA gel.
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Affiliation(s)
- Biaolan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic Molecular Physics, Wuhan Center for Magnetic Resonance, Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.
| | - Xiaoshuang Yan
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
| | - Zhihui Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic Molecular Physics, Wuhan Center for Magnetic Resonance, Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China. .,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
| | - Jian Wang
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
| | - Jiwen Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic Molecular Physics, Wuhan Center for Magnetic Resonance, Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.
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4
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Synthesis, characterization and application of dual thermo- and solvent-responsive double-hydrophilic diblock copolymers of N-acryloylmorpholine and N-isopropylacrylamide. J Mol Liq 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2022.119053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
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5
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Wang P, Geiger C, Kreuzer LP, Widmann T, Reitenbach J, Liang S, Cubitt R, Henschel C, Laschewsky A, Papadakis CM, Müller-Buschbaum P. Poly(sulfobetaine)-Based Diblock Copolymer Thin Films in Water/Acetone Atmosphere: Modulation of Water Hydration and Co-nonsolvency-Triggered Film Contraction. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2022; 38:6934-6948. [PMID: 35609178 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c00451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The water swelling and subsequent solvent exchange including co-nonsolvency behavior of thin films of a doubly thermo-responsive diblock copolymer (DBC) are studied via spectral reflectance, time-of-flight neutron reflectometry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The DBC consists of a thermo-responsive zwitterionic (poly(4-((3-methacrylamidopropyl) dimethylammonio) butane-1-sulfonate)) (PSBP) block, featuring an upper critical solution temperature transition in aqueous media but being insoluble in acetone, and a nonionic poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide) (PNIPMAM) block, featuring a lower critical solution temperature transition in water, while being soluble in acetone. Homogeneous DBC films of 50-100 nm thickness are first swollen in saturated water vapor (H2O or D2O), before they are subjected to a contraction process by exposure to mixed saturated water/acetone vapor (H2O or D2O/acetone-d6 = 9:1 v/v). The affinity of the DBC film toward H2O is stronger than for D2O, as inferred from the higher film thickness in the swollen state and the higher absorbed water content, thus revealing a pronounced isotope sensitivity. During the co-solvent-induced switching by mixed water/acetone vapor, a two-step film contraction is observed, which is attributed to the delayed expulsion of water molecules and uptake of acetone molecules. The swelling kinetics are compared for both mixed vapors (H2O/acetone-d6 and D2O/acetone-d6) and with those of the related homopolymer films. Moreover, the concomitant variations of the local environment around the hydrophilic groups located in the PSBP and PNIPMAM blocks are followed. The first contraction step turns out to be dominated by the behavior of the PSBP block, whereas the second one is dominated by the PNIPMAM block. The unusual swelling and contraction behavior of the latter block is attributed to its co-nonsolvency behavior. Furthermore, we observe cooperative hydration effects in the DBC films, that is, both polymer blocks influence each other's solvation behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peixi Wang
- Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Physik Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Street 1, Garching 85748, Germany
| | - Christina Geiger
- Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Physik Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Street 1, Garching 85748, Germany
| | - Lucas P Kreuzer
- Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Physik Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Street 1, Garching 85748, Germany
| | - Tobias Widmann
- Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Physik Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Street 1, Garching 85748, Germany
| | - Julija Reitenbach
- Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Physik Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Street 1, Garching 85748, Germany
| | - Suzhe Liang
- Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Physik Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Street 1, Garching 85748, Germany
| | - Robert Cubitt
- Institut-Laue-Langevin, 6 rue Jules Horowitz, Grenoble 38000, France
| | - Cristiane Henschel
- Institut für Chemie, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Street 24-25, Potsdam-Golm 14476, Germany
| | - André Laschewsky
- Institut für Chemie, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Street 24-25, Potsdam-Golm 14476, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institut für Angewandte Polymerforschung, Geiselberg Street 69, Potsdam-Golm 14476, Germany
| | - Christine M Papadakis
- Fachgebiet Physik weicher Materie, Physik Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Street 1, Garching 85748, Germany
| | - Peter Müller-Buschbaum
- Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Physik Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Street 1, Garching 85748, Germany
- Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), Technische Universität München, Lichtenberg Street 1, Garching 85748, Germany
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6
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Tanaka F. Thermoreversible Gelation of Associating Polymers in Hydrogen-Bonding Mixed Solvents. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2022; 38:5098-5110. [PMID: 34595927 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c02040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The thermoreversible gelation of associating polymers in hydogen-bonding mixed solvents is studied theoretically on the basis of the model ternary solution in which polymers carrying functional group A are dissolved in a primary solvent SB (mainly water) and cosolvent SC. Functional group A forms intermolecular cross-links (A-A) leading to gelation. It can also form hydrogen bonds with either solvent molecule SB or SC (A-SB, A-SC). If bound to a solvent molecule, A becomes inert. Solvent molecules form complexes with variable association numbers (SB-SC). Ternary phase diagrams for sol-gel transition lines and their cross sections on the temperature-solvent composition plane are constructed. It is shown that a minimum in the polymer concentration along the sol-gel transition line appears at a special solvent composition which depends upon the structure of the complexes. At such an optimal gel point, the sol-gel transition temperature becomes the highest, thus leading to stable, strong gels. The degree of adsorption, preferential adsorption coefficient, average molecular weight of the complexes, and cross-link probability are calculated as functions of the solvent composition. At the optimal gel point, the preferential adsorption coefficient changes its sign and the average molecular weight of the complexes reaches a maximum. Results are compared with the experimental data on poly(vinyl alcohol) in a mixed solvent of water/dimethyl sulfoxide, dimethyl sulfoxide/urea, or water/methanol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fumihiko Tanaka
- Department of Polymer Chemistry, Kyoto University, Kyoto 615-8510, Japan
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7
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Tripathy M, Bharadwaj S, van der Vegt NFA. Solvation shell thermodynamics of extended hydrophobic solutes in mixed solvents. J Chem Phys 2022; 156:164901. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0090646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability of various cosolutes and cosolvents to enhance or quench solvent density fluctuations at solute–water interfaces has crucial implications on the conformational equilibrium of macromolecules such as polymers and proteins. Herein, we use an extended hydrophobic solute as a model system to study the effect of urea and methanol on the density fluctuations in the solute’s solvation shell and the resulting thermodynamics. On strengthening the solute–water/cosolute repulsive interaction, we observe distinct trends in the mutual affinities between various species in, and the thermodynamic properties of, the solvation shell. These trends strongly follow the respective trends in the preferential adsorption of urea and methanol: solute–water/cosolute repulsion strengthens, urea accumulation decreases, and methanol accumulation increases. Preferential accumulation of urea is found to quench the density fluctuations around the extended solute, leading to a decrease in the compressibility of the solvation shell. In contrast, methanol accumulation enhances the density fluctuations, leading to an increase in the compressibility. The mode of action of urea and methanol seems to be strongly coupled to their hydration behavior. The observations from this simple model is discussed in relation to urea driven swelling and methanol induced collapse of some well-known thermo-responsive polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhusmita Tripathy
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Swaminath Bharadwaj
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Nico F. A. van der Vegt
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
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8
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Bharadwaj S, Niebuur BJ, Nothdurft K, Richtering W, van der Vegt NFA, Papadakis CM. Cononsolvency of thermoresponsive polymers: where we are now and where we are going. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:2884-2909. [PMID: 35311857 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm00146b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Cononsolvency is an intriguing phenomenon where a polymer collapses in a mixture of good solvents. This cosolvent-induced modulation of the polymer solubility has been observed in solutions of several polymers and biomacromolecules, and finds application in areas such as hydrogel actuators, drug delivery, compound detection and catalysis. In the past decade, there has been a renewed interest in understanding the molecular mechanisms which drive cononsolvency with a predominant emphasis on its connection to the preferential adsorption of the cosolvent. Significant efforts have also been made to understand cononsolvency in complex systems such as micelles, block copolymers and thin films. In this review, we will discuss some of the recent developments from the experimental, simulation and theoretical fronts, and provide an outlook on the problems and challenges which are yet to be addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swaminath Bharadwaj
- Technical University of Darmstadt, Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Computational Physical Chemistry Group, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany.
| | - Bart-Jan Niebuur
- Technical University of Munich, Physics Department, Soft Matter Physics Group, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Katja Nothdurft
- RWTH Aachen University, Institut für Physikalische Chemie, Landoltweg 2, 52056 Aachen, Germany, European Union
| | - Walter Richtering
- RWTH Aachen University, Institut für Physikalische Chemie, Landoltweg 2, 52056 Aachen, Germany, European Union
| | - Nico F A van der Vegt
- Technical University of Darmstadt, Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Computational Physical Chemistry Group, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany.
| | - Christine M Papadakis
- Technical University of Munich, Physics Department, Soft Matter Physics Group, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
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9
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Baumli P, Hauer L, Lorusso E, Aghili AS, Hegner KI, D'Acunzi M, Gutmann JS, Dünweg B, Vollmer D. Linear shrinkage of hydrogel coatings exposed to flow: interplay between dissolution of water and advective transport. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:365-371. [PMID: 34889343 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm01297e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the shrinkage of a surface-grafted water-swollen hydrogel under shear flows of oils by laser scanning confocal microscopy. Interestingly, external shear flows of oil lead to linear dehydration and shrinkage of the hydrogel for all investigated flow conditions irrespective of the chemical nature of the hydrogel. The reason is that the finite solubility of water in oil removes water from the hydrogel continuously by diffusion. The flow advects the water-rich oil, as demonstrated by numerical solutions of the underlying convection-diffusion equation. In line with this hypothesis, shear does not cause gel shrinkage for water-saturated oils or non-solvents. The solubility of water in the oil will tune the dehydration dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Baumli
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
| | - Lukas Hauer
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
| | - Emanuela Lorusso
- Deutsches Textilforschungszentrum Nord-West ÖP GmbH, Adlerstraße 1, 47798 Krefeld, Germany
| | | | - Katharina I Hegner
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
| | - Maria D'Acunzi
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
| | - Jochen S Gutmann
- Deutsches Textilforschungszentrum Nord-West ÖP GmbH, Adlerstraße 1, 47798 Krefeld, Germany
| | - Burkhard Dünweg
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
| | - Doris Vollmer
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
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10
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Zhao Y, Bharadwaj S, van der Vegt N. Nonadditive ion effects on the coil-globule equilibrium of PNIPAM: A computer simulation study. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:10346-10355. [DOI: 10.1039/d2cp00057a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The combined effect of a weakly hydrated and a strongly hydrated anion on the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)(PNIPAM) is nonadditive (Bruce et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc....
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11
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Kadaoluwa Pathirannahalage SP, Meftahi N, Elbourne A, Weiss ACG, McConville CF, Padua A, Winkler DA, Costa Gomes M, Greaves TL, Le TC, Besford QA, Christofferson AJ. Systematic Comparison of the Structural and Dynamic Properties of Commonly Used Water Models for Molecular Dynamics Simulations. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:4521-4536. [PMID: 34406000 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Water is a unique solvent that is ubiquitous in biology and present in a variety of solutions, mixtures, and materials settings. It therefore forms the basis for all molecular dynamics simulations of biological phenomena, as well as for many chemical, industrial, and materials investigations. Over the years, many water models have been developed, and it remains a challenge to find a single water model that accurately reproduces all experimental properties of water simultaneously. Here, we report a comprehensive comparison of structural and dynamic properties of 30 commonly used 3-point, 4-point, 5-point, and polarizable water models simulated using consistent settings and analysis methods. For the properties of density, coordination number, surface tension, dielectric constant, self-diffusion coefficient, and solvation free energy of methane, models published within the past two decades consistently show better agreement with experimental values compared to models published earlier, albeit with some notable exceptions. However, no single model reproduced all experimental values exactly, highlighting the need to carefully choose a water model for a particular study, depending on the phenomena of interest. Finally, machine learning algorithms quantified the relationship between the water model force field parameters and the resulting bulk properties, providing insight into the parameter-property relationship and illustrating the challenges of developing a water model that can accurately reproduce all properties of water simultaneously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sachini P Kadaoluwa Pathirannahalage
- School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia.,Laboratoire de Chimie, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, CNRS, Lyon 69342, France
| | - Nastaran Meftahi
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia
| | - Aaron Elbourne
- School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia
| | - Alessia C G Weiss
- Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung e.V., Hohe Straße 6, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Chris F McConville
- School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia.,Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 3220, Australia
| | - Agilio Padua
- Laboratoire de Chimie, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, CNRS, Lyon 69342, France
| | - David A Winkler
- School of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3086, Australia.,Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.,School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2QL, U.K
| | | | - Tamar L Greaves
- School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia
| | - Tu C Le
- School of Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia
| | - Quinn A Besford
- Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung e.V., Hohe Straße 6, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Andrew J Christofferson
- School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia
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12
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Ko CH, Henschel C, Meledam GP, Schroer MA, Guo R, Gaetani L, Müller-Buschbaum P, Laschewsky A, Papadakis CM. Co-Nonsolvency Effect in Solutions of Poly(methyl methacrylate)- b-poly( N-isopropylacrylamide) Diblock Copolymers in Water/Methanol Mixtures. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c00512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Hsin Ko
- Physik-Department, Fachgebiet Physik Weicher Materie, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Straße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Cristiane Henschel
- Institut für Chemie, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Golm, Germany
| | - Geethu P. Meledam
- Physik-Department, Fachgebiet Physik Weicher Materie, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Straße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Martin A. Schroer
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hamburg Outstation, c/o Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, Notkestr. 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Renjun Guo
- Physik-Department, Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Straße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Luka Gaetani
- Physik-Department, Fachgebiet Physik Weicher Materie, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Straße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Peter Müller-Buschbaum
- Physik-Department, Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Straße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
- Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstr. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - André Laschewsky
- Institut für Chemie, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Golm, Germany
- Fraunhofer-Institut für Angewandte Polymerforschung, Geiselbergstraße 69, 14476 Potsdam, Golm, Germany
| | - Christine M. Papadakis
- Physik-Department, Fachgebiet Physik Weicher Materie, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Straße 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
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13
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van der Vegt NFA. Length-Scale Effects in Hydrophobic Polymer Collapse Transitions. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:5191-5199. [PMID: 33906353 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c01070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The study of molecular mechanisms for cosolvent-driven hydrophobic polymer collapse transitions in water is of pivotal importance in the field of smart responsive materials. Computational studies together with complementary experimental data have led to the discovery and understanding of new phenomena in recent years. However, elementary mechanisms, generally contributing to polymer coil-globule transitions in different classes of cosolvent-water systems, remain elusive due to compensating energy-entropy effects. Herein, I discuss the role of length scales in polymer solubility problems. New ideas on surfactant mechanisms are discussed based on examples in which these mechanisms drive polymer swelling or collapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nico F A van der Vegt
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Alarich-Weiss-Straße 10, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany
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14
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Bharadwaj S, Nayar D, Dalgicdir C, van der Vegt NFA. An interplay of excluded-volume and polymer-(co)solvent attractive interactions regulates polymer collapse in mixed solvents. J Chem Phys 2021; 154:134903. [PMID: 33832270 DOI: 10.1063/5.0046746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Cosolvent effects on the coil-globule transitions in aqueous polymer solutions are not well understood, especially in the case of amphiphilic cosolvents that preferentially adsorb on the polymer and lead to both polymer swelling and collapse. Although a predominant focus in the literature has been placed on the role of polymer-cosolvent attractive interactions, our recent work has shown that excluded-volume interactions (repulsive interactions) can drive both preferential adsorption of the cosolvent and polymer collapse via a surfactant-like mechanism. Here, we further study the role of polymer-(co)solvent attractive interactions in two kinds of polymer solutions, namely, good solvent (water)-good cosolvent (alcohol) (GSGC) and poor solvent-good cosolvent (PSGC) solutions, both of which exhibit preferential adsorption of the cosolvent and a non-monotonic change in the polymer radius of gyration with the addition of the cosolvent. Interestingly, at low concentrations, the polymer-(co)solvent energetic interactions oppose polymer collapse in the GSGC solutions and contrarily support polymer collapse in the PSGC solutions, indicating the importance of the underlying polymer chemistry. Even though the alcohol molecules are preferentially adsorbed on the polymer, the trends of the energetic interactions at low cosolvent concentrations are dominated by the polymer-water energetic interactions in both the cases. Therefore, polymer-(co)solvent energetic interactions can either reinforce or compensate the surfactant-like mechanism, and it is this interplay that drives coil-to-globule transitions in polymer solutions. These results have implications for rationalizing the cononsolvency transitions in real systems such as polyacrylamides in aqueous alcohol solutions where the understanding of microscopic driving forces is still debatable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swaminath Bharadwaj
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Divya Nayar
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Cahit Dalgicdir
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Nico F A van der Vegt
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
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15
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Geiger C, Reitenbach J, Kreuzer LP, Widmann T, Wang P, Cubitt R, Henschel C, Laschewsky A, Papadakis CM, Müller-Buschbaum P. PMMA- b-PNIPAM Thin Films Display Cononsolvency-Driven Response in Mixed Water/Methanol Vapors. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c00021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christina Geiger
- Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Physik Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Julija Reitenbach
- Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Physik Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Lucas P. Kreuzer
- Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Physik Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Tobias Widmann
- Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Physik Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Peixi Wang
- Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Physik Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Robert Cubitt
- Institut Laue-Langevin, 6 rue Jules Horowitz, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Cristiane Henschel
- Institut für Chemie, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - André Laschewsky
- Institut für Chemie, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
- Fraunhofer Institut für Angewandte Polymerforschung, Geiselbergstr. 69, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Christine M. Papadakis
- Fachgebiet Physik weicher Materie, Physik Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
| | - Peter Müller-Buschbaum
- Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien, Physik Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Str. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
- Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ), Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstr. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
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16
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Nothdurft K, Müller DH, Mürtz SD, Meyer AA, Guerzoni LPB, Jans A, Kühne AJC, De Laporte L, Brands T, Bardow A, Richtering W. Is the Microgel Collapse a Two-Step Process? Exploiting Cononsolvency to Probe the Collapse Dynamics of Poly- N-isopropylacrylamide (pNIPAM). J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:1503-1512. [PMID: 33503378 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c10430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Many applications of responsive microgels rely on the fast adaptation of the polymer network. However, the underlying dynamics of the de-/swelling process of the gels have not been fully understood. In the present work, we focus on the collapse kinetics of poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (pNIPAM) microgels due to cononsolvency. Cononsolvency means that either of the pure solvents, e.g., pure water or pure methanol, act as a so-called good solvent, leading to a swollen state of the polymer network. However, in mixtures of water and methanol, the previously swollen network undergoes a drastic volume loss. To further elucidate the cononsolvency transition, pNIPAM microgels with diameters between 20 and 110 μm were synthesized by microfluidics. To follow the dynamics, pure water was suddenly exchanged with an unfavorable mixture of 20 mol% methanol (solvent-jump) within a microfluidic channel. The dynamic response of the microgels was investigated by optical and fluorescence microscopy and Raman microspectroscopy. The experimental data provide unique and detailed insight into the size-dependent kinetics of the volume phase transition due to cononsolvency. The change in the microgel's diameter over time points to a two-step process of the microgel collapse with a biexponential behavior. Furthermore, the dependence between the two time constants from this biexponential behavior and the microgel's diameter in the collapsed state deviates from the square-power law proposed by Tanaka and Fillmore [ J. Chem. Phys. 1979, 70, 1214-1218]. The deviation is discussed considering the adhesion-induced deformation of the gels and the physical processes underlying the collapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja Nothdurft
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 2, 52056 Aachen, Germany
| | - David H Müller
- Institute of Technical Thermodynamics, RWTH Aachen University, Schinkelstr. 8, 52062 Aachen, Germany
| | - Sonja D Mürtz
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 2, 52056 Aachen, Germany
| | - Anna A Meyer
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 2, 52056 Aachen, Germany
| | - Luis P B Guerzoni
- DWI-Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Forckenbeckstr. 50, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Alexander Jans
- DWI-Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Forckenbeckstr. 50, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Alexander J C Kühne
- DWI-Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Forckenbeckstr. 50, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Laura De Laporte
- DWI-Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Forckenbeckstr. 50, 52074 Aachen, Germany.,Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen, Worringerweg 1-2, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Thorsten Brands
- Institute of Technical Thermodynamics, RWTH Aachen University, Schinkelstr. 8, 52062 Aachen, Germany
| | - André Bardow
- Institute of Technical Thermodynamics, RWTH Aachen University, Schinkelstr. 8, 52062 Aachen, Germany.,Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zürich, Tannenstr. 3, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Walter Richtering
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 2, 52056 Aachen, Germany.,DWI-Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Forckenbeckstr. 50, 52074 Aachen, Germany
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17
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Li R, Cheng C, Wang Z, Gu X, Zhang C, Wang C, Liang X, Hu D. Conformational Stability of Poly (N-Isopropylacrylamide) Anchored on the Surface of Gold Nanoparticles. MATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 14:443. [PMID: 33477518 PMCID: PMC7831095 DOI: 10.3390/ma14020443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2020] [Revised: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
To verify the temperature sensitive failure of poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) anchored on the surface of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), the UV-Vis spectra with temperature variations of the following aqueous solutions respectively containing AuNPs-PNIPAM, Au-PNIPAM/PNIPAM, PNIPAM, in different media (including salt, ethanol, HCl and cetyltrimethylammoniumbromide (CTAB)), were systematically determined. The results indicated that the UV-Vis spectrum of AuNPs-PNIPAM suspension hardly changed even above the Lower Critical Solution Temperature (LCST) of PNIPAM, but that of Au-PNIPAM/PNIPAM sharply increased only in absorbance intensity. A possible mechanism of the failed temperature sensitivity of PNIPAM anchored on the surface of AuNPs was proposed. Being different from free PNIPAM molecules, a strong interaction exists among PNIPAM molecules anchored on the surface of AuNPs, restraining the change in conformation of PNIPAM. The temperature sensitivity of Au-PNIPAM/PNIPAM originates from the free PNIPAM molecules rather than the anchored PNIPAM one. The changing electrostatic interaction could effectively regulate the aggregation behavior of AuNPs-PNIPAM and enhance its sensitivity to temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Runmei Li
- Engineering Research Center of Historical and Cultural Heritage Protection, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China; (R.L.); (C.C.); (Z.W.); (C.Z.); (C.W.)
| | - Cong Cheng
- Engineering Research Center of Historical and Cultural Heritage Protection, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China; (R.L.); (C.C.); (Z.W.); (C.Z.); (C.W.)
| | - Zhuorui Wang
- Engineering Research Center of Historical and Cultural Heritage Protection, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China; (R.L.); (C.C.); (Z.W.); (C.Z.); (C.W.)
| | - Xuefan Gu
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xi’an Shiyou University, Xi’an 710065, China;
| | - Caixia Zhang
- Engineering Research Center of Historical and Cultural Heritage Protection, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China; (R.L.); (C.C.); (Z.W.); (C.Z.); (C.W.)
| | - Chen Wang
- Engineering Research Center of Historical and Cultural Heritage Protection, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China; (R.L.); (C.C.); (Z.W.); (C.Z.); (C.W.)
| | - Xinyue Liang
- Institute of Industrial Hygiene of Ordnance Industry, Xi’an 710065, China;
| | - Daodao Hu
- Engineering Research Center of Historical and Cultural Heritage Protection, Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062, China; (R.L.); (C.C.); (Z.W.); (C.Z.); (C.W.)
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18
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Grinberg VY, Burova TV, Grinberg NV, Moskalets AP, Dubovik AS, Plashchina IG, Khokhlov AR. Energetics and Mechanisms of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) Phase Transitions in Water–Methanol Solutions. Macromolecules 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c02253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Valerij Y. Grinberg
- A.N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov Street. 28, Moscow 119991, Russia
- N.M. Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Kosygin Street. 4, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Tatiana V. Burova
- A.N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov Street. 28, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Natalia V. Grinberg
- A.N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov Street. 28, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Alexander P. Moskalets
- A.N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov Street. 28, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Alexander S. Dubovik
- A.N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov Street. 28, Moscow 119991, Russia
- N.M. Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Kosygin Street. 4, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Irina G. Plashchina
- N.M. Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Kosygin Street. 4, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Alexei R. Khokhlov
- A.N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov Street. 28, Moscow 119991, Russia
- M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1, Moscow 119991, Russia
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19
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A cosolvent surfactant mechanism affects polymer collapse in miscible good solvents. Commun Chem 2020; 3:165. [PMID: 36703319 PMCID: PMC9814688 DOI: 10.1038/s42004-020-00405-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 10/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The coil-globule transition of aqueous polymers is of profound significance in understanding the structure and function of responsive soft matter. In particular, the remarkable effect of amphiphilic cosolvents (e.g., alcohols) that leads to both swelling and collapse of stimuli-responsive polymers has been hotly debated in the literature, often with contradictory mechanisms proposed. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we herein demonstrate that alcohols reduce the free energy cost of creating a repulsive polymer-solvent interface via a surfactant-like mechanism which surprisingly drives polymer collapse at low alcohol concentrations. This hitherto neglected role of interfacial solvation thermodynamics is common to all coil-globule transitions, and rationalizes the experimentally observed effects of higher alcohols and polymer molecular weight on the coil-to-globule transition of thermoresponsive polymers. Polymer-(co)solvent attractive interactions reinforce or compensate this mechanism and it is this interplay which drives polymer swelling or collapse.
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20
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Mochizuki K. On-Off of Co-non-solvency for Poly( N-vinylcaprolactam) in Alcohol-Water Mixtures: A Molecular Dynamics Study. J Phys Chem B 2020; 124:9951-9957. [PMID: 33086006 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c07188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PVCL) exhibits co-non-solvency in aqueous solutions of 2-propanol but not in methanol. What distinguishes the impact of these two cosolvents on the polymer conformational stability? We report a molecular dynamics simulation study on PVCL 50-mer and monomers dissolved in methanol-water and 2-propanol-water mixtures. We show that the alcohol-concentration dependence of the effective attraction between a pair of PVCL monomers closely resembles the conformational changes in a single PVCL 50-mer as well as the experimentally observed behavior for PVCL chains. We also found that, at the co-non-solvency maximum, the monomer-monomer attraction works over a long-range beyond the solvent-separated distance. Then, we correlate the long-range attraction to the appearance of a dense alcohol concentration accumulated between the monomers. Furthermore, we distinctly demonstrate that the co-non-solvency of PVCL monomers can be switched on/off by artificially tuning the alcohol size while keeping the energetic parameters. Thus, we conclude that the magnitude of the excluded volume effect in alcohol accompanying the gain in translational entropy of the solvent is crucial to the occurrence of PVCL polymer co-non-solvency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenji Mochizuki
- Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, 148 Tianmushan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310028, P. R. China
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21
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Dittrich J, Kather M, Holzberger A, Pich A, Gohlke H. Cumulative Submillisecond All-Atom Simulations of the Temperature-Induced Coil-to-Globule Transition of Poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) in Aqueous Solution. Macromolecules 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c01896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Dittrich
- Institute for Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
- Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Michael Kather
- DWI-Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Anna Holzberger
- DWI-Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Andrij Pich
- Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
- DWI-Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials, RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany
- Institute of Technical and Macromolecular Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Holger Gohlke
- Institute for Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
- Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
- John von Neumann Institute for Computing (NIC), Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC), Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-7: Structural Biochemistry), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany
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22
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Nayar D. Small crowder interactions can drive hydrophobic polymer collapse as well as unfolding. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:18091-18101. [PMID: 32760995 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp02402c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Biomolecules evolve and function in the intracellular crowded environment that is densely packed with macromolecules. Yet, a microscopic understanding of the effects of such an environment on the conformational preferences of biomolecules remains elusive. While prior investigations have attributed crowding effects mainly to the excluded volume (size) effects of the crowders, very little is known about the effects exerted due to their chemical interactions. In this study, crowding effects of tri-alanine peptides on the collapse equilibria of generic hydrophobic polymer are investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. The role of weak, non-specific, attractive polymer-crowder interactions in modulating the polymer collapse equilibria is examined. The results highlight that crowding effects can lead to polymer compaction as well as unfolding depending on the strength of polymer-crowder interaction energy. Strongly interacting crowders weaken hydrophobic collapse (or unfold the polymer) at high volume fractions and induce polymer collapse only under dilute conditions. Weakly interacting crowders induce polymer collapse at all crowder concentrations. Interestingly, the thermodynamic driving forces for polymer collapse are remarkably different in the two cases. Strongly and weakly interacting crowders induce collapse by preferential adsorption and preferential depletion respectively. The findings provide new insights into the possible effects of interplay of intermolecular interactions in a crowded environment. The results have implications in understanding the impact of crowding in altering free energy landscapes of proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Divya Nayar
- Centre for Computational and Data Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India.
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23
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Tripathy M, Bharadwaj S, B. SJ, van der Vegt NFA. Characterizing Polymer Hydration Shell Compressibilities with the Small-System Method. NANOMATERIALS 2020; 10:nano10081460. [PMID: 32722500 PMCID: PMC7466400 DOI: 10.3390/nano10081460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2020] [Revised: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
The small-system method (SSM) exploits the unique feature of finite-sized open systems, whose thermodynamic quantities scale with the inverse system size. This scaling enables the calculation of properties in the thermodynamic limit of macroscopic systems based on computer simulations of finite-sized systems. We herein extend the SSM to characterize the hydration shell compressibility of a generic hydrophobic polymer in water. By systematically increasing the strength of polymer-water repulsion, we find that the excess inverse thermodynamic correction factor (Δ1/Γs∞) and compressibility (Δχs) of the first hydration shell change sign from negative to positive. This occurs with a concurrent decrease in water hydrogen bonding and local tetrahedral order of the hydration shell water. The crossover lengthscale corresponds to an effective polymer bead diameter of 0.7 nm and is consistent with previous works on hydration of small and large hydrophobic solutes. The crossover lengthscale in polymer hydration shell compressibility, herein identified with the SSM approach, relates to hydrophobic interactions and macromolecular conformational equilibria in aqueous solution. The SSM approach may further be applied to study thermodynamic properties of polymer solvation shells in mixed solvents.
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24
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Polák J, Ondo D, Heyda J. Thermodynamics of N-Isopropylacrylamide in Water: Insight from Experiments, Simulations, and Kirkwood-Buff Analysis Teamwork. J Phys Chem B 2020; 124:2495-2504. [PMID: 32118440 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c00413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The behavior of thermoresponsive polymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNiPAM), an essential building block in the design of smart soft materials, in aqueous solutions has attracted much interest, which contrasts with our knowledge of N-isopropylacrylamide (NiPAM) monomer. Strikingly, the physicochemical properties of aqueous NiPAM are similarly rich, and their understanding is far from being complete. This stems from the lack of accurate thermodynamic data and quantitative model for atomistic simulations. In this joint study, we have probed the thermodynamic behavior of aqueous NiPAM by experimental methods, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and Kirkwood-Buff (KB) analysis at ambient conditions. From the partial molar volumes and simultaneously correlated osmotic coefficients, with excess partial molar enthalpies of NiPAM in water, the concentration and temperature dependence of KB integrals was determined. For the purpose of this work, we have developed and employed a novel NiPAM force field, which not only reproduces KB integrals (Gij) and adequately captures macroscopic thermodynamic quantities but also provides more accurate structural insight than the original force fields. We revealed in the vicinity of NiPAM the competing effect of amide hydration with interaction between nonpolar regions. This microscopic picture is reflected in the experimentally observed NiPAM-NiPAM association, which is present from highly dilute conditions up to the solubility limit and is evidenced by G22. From intermediate concentrations, it is accompanied by the existence of apparent dense-water regions, as indicated by positive G11 values. The here-employed KB-based framework provided a mutually consistent thermodynamic and microscopic insight into the NiPAM solution and may be further extended for ion-specific effects. Moreover, our findings contribute to the understanding of thermodynamic grounds behind PNiPAM collapse transition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Polák
- Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Daniel Ondo
- Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Heyda
- Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic
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25
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Molecular description of the coil-to-globule transition of Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) in water/ethanol mixture at low alcohol concentration. J Mol Liq 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2019.111928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
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26
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Saltzman A, Houser H, Langrehr M, Ashbaugh HS. Nonpolar solute cononsolvency in ethanol/water mixtures – Connections to solvent structure. J Mol Liq 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2019.111944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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27
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Pica A, Graziano G. Effect of sodium thiocyanate and sodium perchlorate on poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) collapse. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 22:189-195. [PMID: 31799525 DOI: 10.1039/c9cp05706d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The T(collapse) of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), PNIPAM, shows a nonlinear dependence on the concentration of NaSCN or NaClO4; in the case of NaClO4, for example, at very low concentrations of the salt, T(collapse) increases with the concentration, while it has an opposite trend at higher NaClO4 concentrations [J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2005, 127, 14505]. These puzzling experimental data can be rationalized by considering that low charge density and poorly hydrated ions, such as thiocyanate and perchlorate, interact preferentially with the surface of the polymer, and cause an increase of the magnitude of the energetic term that stabilizes swollen conformations at low salt concentrations. However, as both swollen and collapsed PNIPAM conformations are accessible to such ions in view of their large conformational freedom, the difference in the number of ions bound to PNIPAM surface upon collapse changes little on increasing the salt concentration. Thus, the energetic term that favors swollen conformations increases with salt concentration to a lesser extent than the solvent-excluded volume term (linked to the density increase caused by salt addition to water), that favors collapsed conformations, leading to a nonlinear trend of T(collapse).
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Pica
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Grenoble Outstation, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble, France
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28
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Ganguly P, Shea JE. Distinct and Nonadditive Effects of Urea and Guanidinium Chloride on Peptide Solvation. J Phys Chem Lett 2019; 10:7406-7413. [PMID: 31721587 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.9b03004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Using enhanced-sampling replica exchange fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, we show that, individually, urea and guanidinium chloride (GdmCl) denature the Trpcage protein, but remarkably, the helical segment 1NLYIQWL7 of the protein is stabilized in mixed denaturant solutions. GdmCl induces protein denaturation via a combination of direct and indirect effects involving dehydration of the protein and destabilization of stabilizing salt bridges. In contrast, urea denatures the protein through favorable protein-urea preferential interactions, with peptide-specific indirect effects of urea on the water structure around the protein. In the case of the helical segment of Trpcage, urea "oversolvates" the peptide backbone by reorganizing water molecules from the peptide side chains to the peptide backbone. An intricate nonadditive thermodynamic balance between GdmCl-induced dehydration of the peptide and the urea-induced changes in solvation structure triggers partial counteraction to urea denaturation and stabilization of the helix.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pritam Ganguly
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , University of California at Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California 93106 , United States
| | - Joan-Emma Shea
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry , University of California at Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California 93106 , United States
- Department of Physics , University of California at Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California 93106 , United States
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29
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Park G, Jung Y. Many-chain effects on the co-nonsolvency of polymer brushes in a good solvent mixture. SOFT MATTER 2019; 15:7968-7980. [PMID: 31545330 DOI: 10.1039/c9sm01123d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Polymer brushes normally swell in a good solvent and collapse in a poor solvent. An abnormal response of polymer brushes, so-called co-nonsolvency, is the phenomenon where the brush counter-intuitively collapses in a good solvent mixture. In this work, we employed molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the structural properties of the grafted polymers in the occurrence of co-nonsolvency. Brushes with various grafting densities were considered to study the effect of topologically excluded volumes on the co-nonsolvency. We found that the brush height follows a novel scaling behavior of the grafting density h ∼ σg0.71 in the co-nonsolvent mixture. Using the scaling exponent and Alexander-de Gennes theory, an analytic function that predicts the monomer density was obtained. The many-chain effects in the co-nonsolvent lead to the formation of both intermolecular and intramolecular bridging structures. Increasing the grafting density entails lower looping events occuring because of the intermolcular bridging, causing diverse structural properties. We report how the average thickness, the polymer orientation, and the looping probability vary as the grafting density increases. Based on these observations, we constructed a phase diagram of the polymer brush system using the average thickness and orientation as order parameters. Our simulations and analytical results reveal the nature of co-nonsolvency in polymer brushes in an explicit way and will help to provide practical guidelines for applications such as drug delivery and sensor devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gyehyun Park
- Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
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30
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Podewitz M, Wang Y, Quoika PK, Loeffler JR, Schauperl M, Liedl KR. Coil-Globule Transition Thermodynamics of Poly( N-isopropylacrylamide). J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:8838-8847. [PMID: 31545046 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b06125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Thermosensitive polymers such as poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) undergo a phase transition in aqueous solution from a random-coil structural ensemble to a globule structural ensemble at the lower critical solution temperature (LCST). Above this temperature, PNIPAM agglomerates and becomes insoluble, whereas it is soluble below the temperature. Thus, thermosensitive polymers represent essential targets for several applications, e.g., in drug delivery. Although their ability to change structure in response to a temperature alteration is highly relevant for industrial processes, their thermodynamic properties are mostly qualitatively understood, and the quantitative thermodynamic picture is still elusive. In this study, we used a combined atomistic molecular dynamics and well-tempered metadynamics simulation approach to estimate coil-globule transition thermodynamics. An isotactic 30-mer of PNIPAM was investigated over a broad temperature range between 200 and 360 K. The transition from the globule to the random-coil structure was observed with well-tempered metadynamics. For the first time, the free energy surface of PNIPAM was estimated and it is shown that the simulation results are in line with the experimentally observed thermosensitive behavior. Below the LCST, the random-coil ensemble represents the global energy minimum and is thermodynamically favored by 21 ± 9 kJ/mol compared to the globule ensemble; both are separated by a barrier of 49 ± 14 kJ/mol. In contrast, above the LCST, the globule ensemble is thermodynamically favored by 21 ± 8 kJ/mol over the random-coil ensemble. The barrier from random-coil to globule is 17 ± 10 kJ/mol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maren Podewitz
- Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI) , University of Innsbruck , Innrain 80-82 , A-6020 Innsbruck , Austria
| | - Yin Wang
- Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI) , University of Innsbruck , Innrain 80-82 , A-6020 Innsbruck , Austria
| | - Patrick K Quoika
- Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI) , University of Innsbruck , Innrain 80-82 , A-6020 Innsbruck , Austria
| | - Johannes R Loeffler
- Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI) , University of Innsbruck , Innrain 80-82 , A-6020 Innsbruck , Austria
| | - Michael Schauperl
- Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI) , University of Innsbruck , Innrain 80-82 , A-6020 Innsbruck , Austria
| | - Klaus R Liedl
- Institute of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry, and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI) , University of Innsbruck , Innrain 80-82 , A-6020 Innsbruck , Austria
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31
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Pooch F, Teltevskij V, Karjalainen E, Tenhu H, Winnik FM. Poly(2-propyl-2-oxazoline)s in Aqueous Methanol: To Dissolve or not to Dissolve. Macromolecules 2019; 52:6361-6368. [PMID: 31543552 PMCID: PMC6748674 DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2019] [Revised: 08/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
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At
room temperature, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)
(PNIPAM) is soluble in water and methanol, but it is not soluble in
certain water/methanol mixtures. This phenomenon, known as cononsolvency,
has been explored in great detail experimentally and theoretically
in an attempt to understand the complex interactions occurring in
the ternary PNIPAM/water/co-nonsolvent system. Yet little is known
about the effects of the polymer structure on cononsolvency. To address
this point, we investigated the temperature-dependent solution properties
in water, methanol, and mixtures of the two solvents of poly(2-cyclopropyl-2-oxazoline)
(PcyPOx) and two structural isomers of PNIPAM (Mn ∼ 11 kg/mol): poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazoline) (PiPOx)
and poly(2-n-propyl-2-oxazoline) (PnPOx). The phase
diagram of the ternary water/methanol/poly(2-propyl-2-oxazolines)
(PPOx) systems, constructed based on cloud point (TCP) measurements, revealed that PnPOx exhibits cononsolvency
in water/methanol mixtures. In contrast, methanol acts as a cosolvent
for PiPOx and PcyPOx in water. The enthalpy, ΔH, and temperature, Tmax, of the coil-to-globule
transition of the three polymers in various water/methanol mixtures
were measured by high-sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry. Tmax follows the same trends as TCP, confirming the cononsolvency of PnPOx and the cosolvency
of PiPOx and PcyPOx. ΔH decreases linearly
as a function of the methanol content for all PPOx systems. Ancillary
high-resolution 1H NMR spectroscopy studies of PPOx solutions
in D2O and methanol-d4, coupled
with DOSY and NOESY experiments revealed that the n-propyl group of PnPOx rotates freely in D2O, whereas
the rotation of the isopropyl and cyclopropyl groups of PiPOx and
PcyPOx, respectively, is limited due to steric restriction. This factor
appears to play an important role in the case of the PPOxs/water/methanol
ternary system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Pooch
- Department of Chemistry, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 55, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Valerij Teltevskij
- Department of Chemistry, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 55, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Erno Karjalainen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 55, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Heikki Tenhu
- Department of Chemistry, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 55, Helsinki 00014, Finland
| | - Françoise M Winnik
- Department of Chemistry, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 55, Helsinki 00014, Finland.,International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan
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32
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Bruce EE, van der Vegt NFA. Molecular Scale Solvation in Complex Solutions. J Am Chem Soc 2019; 141:12948-12956. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.9b03469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ellen E. Bruce
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und
Physikalische Chemie, Technische Universität Darmstadt, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Nico F. A. van der Vegt
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und
Physikalische Chemie, Technische Universität Darmstadt, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
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33
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Pica A, Graziano G. Why does urea have a different effect on the collapse temperature of PDEAM and PNIPAM? J Mol Liq 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2019.04.071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
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34
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Affiliation(s)
- Swaminath Bharadwaj
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Nico F. A. van der Vegt
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
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35
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Mukherji D, Watson MD, Morsbach S, Schmutz M, Wagner M, Marques CM, Kremer K. Soft and Smart: Co-nonsolvency-Based Design of Multiresponsive Copolymers. Macromolecules 2019. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.9b00414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Debashish Mukherji
- Max-Planck Institut für Polymerforschung, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
- Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute, University of British Columbia, V6T 1Z4 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Mark D. Watson
- Department of Chemistry, University of Kentucky, 40506-0055 Lexington, Kentucky, United States
| | - Svenja Morsbach
- Max-Planck Institut für Polymerforschung, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Marc Schmutz
- Institut Charles Sadron, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, 67034 Strasbourg, France
| | - Manfred Wagner
- Max-Planck Institut für Polymerforschung, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Carlos M. Marques
- Institut Charles Sadron, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, 67034 Strasbourg, France
| | - Kurt Kremer
- Max-Planck Institut für Polymerforschung, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
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36
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Dalgicdir C, van der Vegt NFA. Improved Temperature Behavior of PNIPAM in Water with a Modified OPLS Model. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:3875-3883. [PMID: 30990715 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b01644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We test the OPLS/AA force field for a single PNIPAM 40-mer in aqueous solution using replica exchange molecular dynamics simulations and find that the force field fails to reproduce the experimental temperature behavior. To resolve this issue, we apply a modification on the partial charges previously suggested to reproduce the liquid-liquid phase separation of NIPAM aqueous solutions. The modified force field features stronger amide-water electrostatic interactions than the original OPLS model, predicts a weaker water-mediated monomer-monomer attraction, and reproduces the experimental coil-globule collapse enthalpy of PNIPAM in water. We revisit the cononsolvency problem of PNIPAM in methanol/water mixtures with the modified model and show that the dependence of the coil-globule collapse enthalpy on methanol concentration follows the experimental trend of the lower critical solution temperature. The calculations with the modified force field confirm that polymer dehydration is the determining factor for chain collapse in the cononsolvency regime.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cahit Dalgicdir
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie , Technische Universität Darmstadt , D-64287 Darmstadt , Germany
| | - Nico F A van der Vegt
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie , Technische Universität Darmstadt , D-64287 Darmstadt , Germany
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37
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Buchecker T, Schmid P, Grillo I, Prévost S, Drechsler M, Diat O, Pfitzner A, Bauduin P. Self-Assembly of Short Chain Poly- N-isopropylacrylamid Induced by Superchaotropic Keggin Polyoxometalates: From Globules to Sheets. J Am Chem Soc 2019; 141:6890-6899. [PMID: 30951628 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b12181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We show here for the first time that short chain poly( N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM), one of the most famous thermoresponsive polymers, self-assembles in water to form (i) discrete nanometer-globules and (ii) micrometric sheets with nm-thickness upon addition of the well-known Keggin-type polyoxometalate (POM) H3PW12O40 (PW). The type of self-assembly is controlled by PW concentration: at low PW concentrations, PW adsorbs on PNIPAM chains to form globules consisting of homogeneously distributed PWs in PNIPAM droplets of several nm in size. Upon further addition of PW, a phase transition from globules to micrometric sheets is observed for PNIPAMs above a polymer critical chain length, between 18 and 44 repeating units. The thickness of the sheets is controlled by the PNIPAM chain length, here from 44 to 88 repeating units. The PNIPAM sheets are electrostatically stabilized PWs accumulated on each side of the sheets. The shortest PNIPAM chain with 18 repeating units produces PNIPAM/PW globules with 5-20 nm size but no sheets. The PW/PNIPAM self-assembly arises from a solvent mediated mechanism associated with the partial dehydration of PW and of the PNIPAM, which is related to the general propensity of POMs to adsorb on neutral hydrated surfaces. This effect, known as superchaotropy, is further highlighted by the significant increase in the lower critical solubilization temperature (LCST) of PNIPAM observed upon the addition of PW in the mM range. The influence of the POM nature on the self-assembly of PNIPAM was also investigated by using H4SiW12O40 (SiW) and H3PMo12O40 (PMo), i.e. changing the POM's charge density or polarizability in order to get deeper understanding on the role of electrostatics and polarizability in the PNIPAM self-assembly process. We show here that the superchaotropic behavior of POMs with PNIPAM polymers enables the formation and the shape control of supramolecular organic-inorganic hybrids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Buchecker
- Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Regensburg , 93040 Regensburg , Germany.,ICSM, CEA, CNRS, ENSCM, Univ Montpellier , 34199 Marcoule , France
| | - Philipp Schmid
- Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Regensburg , 93040 Regensburg , Germany.,ICSM, CEA, CNRS, ENSCM, Univ Montpellier , 34199 Marcoule , France
| | - Isabelle Grillo
- Institut Laue-Langevin , 6 rue Jules Horowitz , Grenoble Cedex 9 38042 , France
| | - Sylvain Prévost
- ESRF - The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility , 3800 Grenoble , France
| | - Markus Drechsler
- Laboratory of Soft Matter Electron Microscopy, University of Bayreuth , 95440 Bayreuth , Germany
| | - Olivier Diat
- ICSM, CEA, CNRS, ENSCM, Univ Montpellier , 34199 Marcoule , France
| | - Arno Pfitzner
- Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Regensburg , 93040 Regensburg , Germany
| | - Pierre Bauduin
- ICSM, CEA, CNRS, ENSCM, Univ Montpellier , 34199 Marcoule , France
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38
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Lang X, Xu EX, Wei Y, Walters LN, Hore MJ. Isomeric and structural effects in polymer cononsolvent systems. POLYMER 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2019.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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39
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Dalgicdir C, Rodríguez-Ropero F, van der Vegt NFA. Correction to “Computational Calorimetry of PNIPAM Cononsolvency in Water/Methanol Mixtures”. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:955. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b00306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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40
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Zuo T, Ma C, Jiao G, Han Z, Xiao S, Liang H, Hong L, Bowron D, Soper A, Han CC, Cheng H. Water/Cosolvent Attraction Induced Phase Separation: A Molecular Picture of Cononsolvency. Macromolecules 2019. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.8b02196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Taisen Zuo
- China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), Dongguan 523803, China
- Dongguan Institute of Neutron Science (DINS), Dongguan 523808, China
| | - Changli Ma
- China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), Dongguan 523803, China
- Dongguan Institute of Neutron Science (DINS), Dongguan 523808, China
| | - Guisheng Jiao
- China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), Dongguan 523803, China
- Dongguan Institute of Neutron Science (DINS), Dongguan 523808, China
| | - Zehua Han
- China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), Dongguan 523803, China
- Dongguan Institute of Neutron Science (DINS), Dongguan 523808, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shiyan Xiao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Chemistry, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
| | - Haojun Liang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Chemistry, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China
| | - Liang Hong
- School of Physics and Astronomy &Institute of Natural Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Daniel Bowron
- ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - Alan Soper
- ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - Charles C. Han
- Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 508060, China
| | - He Cheng
- China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), Dongguan 523803, China
- Dongguan Institute of Neutron Science (DINS), Dongguan 523808, China
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41
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Nothdurft K, Müller DH, Brands T, Bardow A, Richtering W. Enrichment of methanol inside pNIPAM gels in the cononsolvency-induced collapse. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:22811-22818. [DOI: 10.1039/c9cp04383g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
From Raman, we determined an enrichment of methanol inside the polymer in the cononsolvency-induced collapse and donor-type hydrogen-bonding of methanol with pNIPAM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja Nothdurft
- Institute of Physical Chemistry
- RWTH Aachen University
- 52056 Aachen
- Germany
| | - David H. Müller
- Institute of Technical Thermodynamics
- RWTH Aachen University
- 52062 Aachen
- Germany
| | - Thorsten Brands
- Institute of Technical Thermodynamics
- RWTH Aachen University
- 52062 Aachen
- Germany
| | - André Bardow
- Institute of Technical Thermodynamics
- RWTH Aachen University
- 52062 Aachen
- Germany
| | - Walter Richtering
- Institute of Physical Chemistry
- RWTH Aachen University
- 52056 Aachen
- Germany
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42
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Milster S, Chudoba R, Kanduč M, Dzubiella J. Cross-linker effect on solute adsorption in swollen thermoresponsive polymer networks. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:6588-6599. [DOI: 10.1039/c8cp07601d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Molecular dynamics study on the solute adsorption to thermoresponsive polymers estimating the cross-link impact on particle partitioning in swollen hydrogels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Milster
- Research Group for Simulations of Energy Materials
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie
- D-14109 Berlin
- Germany
- Institut für Physik
| | - Richard Chudoba
- Research Group for Simulations of Energy Materials
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie
- D-14109 Berlin
- Germany
- Institut für Physik
| | - Matej Kanduč
- Research Group for Simulations of Energy Materials
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie
- D-14109 Berlin
- Germany
- Jožef Stefan Institute
| | - Joachim Dzubiella
- Research Group for Simulations of Energy Materials
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie
- D-14109 Berlin
- Germany
- Applied Theoretical Physics – Computational Physics
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43
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Pérez-Ramírez HA, Haro-Pérez C, Vázquez-Contreras E, Klapp J, Bautista-Carbajal G, Odriozola G. P-NIPAM in water–acetone mixtures: experiments and simulations. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:5106-5116. [DOI: 10.1039/c8cp07549b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (p-NIPAM) diminishes when a small volume of acetone is added to the aqueous polymer solution, and then increases for further additions, producing a minimum at a certain acetone concentration.
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Affiliation(s)
- H. A. Pérez-Ramírez
- Área de Física de Procesos Irreversibles
- División de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería
- Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Azcapotzalco
- Av. San Pablo 180
- 02200 Ciudad de México
| | - C. Haro-Pérez
- Área de Física de Procesos Irreversibles
- División de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería
- Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Azcapotzalco
- Av. San Pablo 180
- 02200 Ciudad de México
| | - E. Vázquez-Contreras
- Departamento de Ciencias Naturales
- CNI
- Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana – Cuajimalpa
- Av. Vasco de Quiroga 4871
- 05348 Ciudad de México
| | - J. Klapp
- Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares
- ININ
- Km. 36.5, Carretera México – Toluca
- 52750 Ocoyoacac
- Mexico
| | - G. Bautista-Carbajal
- Academia de Matemáticas
- Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México
- 07160 Ciudad de México
- Mexico
| | - G. Odriozola
- Área de Física de Procesos Irreversibles
- División de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería
- Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Azcapotzalco
- Av. San Pablo 180
- 02200 Ciudad de México
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44
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Lopez CG, Scotti A, Brugnoni M, Richtering W. The Swelling of Poly(Isopropylacrylamide) Near the θ Temperature: A Comparison between Linear and Cross‐Linked Chains. MACROMOL CHEM PHYS 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/macp.201800421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carlos G. Lopez
- Dr. C. G. Lopez, Dr. A. Scotti, M. Brugnoni, Prof. W. RichteringInstitute of Physical ChemistryRWTH Aachen University Landoltweg 2 52056 Aachen Germany
| | - Andrea Scotti
- Dr. C. G. Lopez, Dr. A. Scotti, M. Brugnoni, Prof. W. RichteringInstitute of Physical ChemistryRWTH Aachen University Landoltweg 2 52056 Aachen Germany
| | - Monia Brugnoni
- Dr. C. G. Lopez, Dr. A. Scotti, M. Brugnoni, Prof. W. RichteringInstitute of Physical ChemistryRWTH Aachen University Landoltweg 2 52056 Aachen Germany
| | - Walter Richtering
- Dr. C. G. Lopez, Dr. A. Scotti, M. Brugnoni, Prof. W. RichteringInstitute of Physical ChemistryRWTH Aachen University Landoltweg 2 52056 Aachen Germany
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45
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Zhang J, Mukherji D, Kremer K, Daoulas KC. Studying polymer solutions with particle-based models linked to classical density functionals: co-non-solvency. SOFT MATTER 2018; 14:9282-9295. [PMID: 30403244 DOI: 10.1039/c8sm01358f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
We demonstrate the potential of hybrid particle-based models, where interactions are introduced through functionals of local order parameters, in describing multicomponent polymer solutions. The link to a free-energy-like functional is advantageous for controlling the thermodynamics of the model. We focus on co-non-solvency - the collapse of polymer chains in dilute mixtures with two miscible good solvents, having different affinities towards the polymer. We employ a simple model where polymers and solvents are represented, respectively, by worm-like chains and single particles. Non-bonded interactions are captured by a polynomial which is third order in local densities and can, therefore, describe liquid-vapour coexistence. The parameterisation of the functional benefits from an elementary mean-field approximation to the statistical mechanics of the model. The model provides a framework for Monte Carlo simulations using a particle-to-mesh algorithm. Studies with conventional generic bead-spring and all-atom models have demonstrated that co-non-solvency is caused by preferential binding of the better solvent (termed cosolvent) with polymer. Hence, segmental loops bridged by cosolvent molecules are formed, initiating polymer collapse. The mesoscopic hybrid model differs conceptually from the conventional microscopic descriptions. Yet, it reproduces the same co-non-solvency mechanism supporting its universality. Films of adsorbed ternary solutions, showing co-non-solvency in the dilute regime, are considered at high concentrations. In this case, chains do not collapse. The properties of loops and tails of the adsorbed polymer agree with early theoretical predictions obtained for concentrated binary solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianguo Zhang
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
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46
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Yong H, Rauch S, Eichhorn KJ, Uhlmann P, Fery A, Sommer JU. Cononsolvency Transition of Polymer Brushes: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study. MATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2018; 11:E991. [PMID: 29891828 PMCID: PMC6024956 DOI: 10.3390/ma11060991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2018] [Revised: 06/01/2018] [Accepted: 06/08/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
In this study, the cononsolvency transition of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNiPAAm) brushes in aqueous ethanol mixtures was studied by using Vis-spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) discussed in conjunction with the adsorption-attraction model. We proved that the cononsolvency transition of PNiPAAm brushes showed features of a volume phase transition, such as a sharp collapse, reaching a maximum decrease in thickness for a very narrow ethanol volume composition range of 15% to 17%. These observations are in agreement with the recently published preferential adsorption model of the cononsolvency effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaisong Yong
- Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V., 01069 Dresden, Germany.
- Institute of Physical Chemistry of Polymeric Materials, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany.
| | - Sebastian Rauch
- Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V., 01069 Dresden, Germany.
| | | | - Petra Uhlmann
- Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V., 01069 Dresden, Germany.
| | - Andreas Fery
- Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V., 01069 Dresden, Germany.
- Institute of Physical Chemistry of Polymeric Materials, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany.
| | - Jens-Uwe Sommer
- Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V., 01069 Dresden, Germany.
- Institute for Theoretical Physics, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany.
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47
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Fukai T, Shinyashiki N, Yagihara S, Kita R, Tanaka F. Phase Behavior of Co-Nonsolvent Systems: Poly( N-isopropylacrylamide) in Mixed Solvents of Water and Methanol. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2018; 34:3003-3009. [PMID: 29412671 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b03815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Cloud points of poly( N-isopropylacrylamide) in aqueous mixed solvents, with methanol as the cosolvent, are experimentally measured for polymer concentrations varied up to as high as the weight fraction 0.25. They are shown to form closed loops on the ternary phase plane in the temperature region between 5 and 30 °C, and hence co-nonsolvency is complete. Miscibility loops shrink by cooling, or equivalently, they exhibit lower critical solution temperature behavior. For a fixed polymer concentration, there is a composition of the mixed solvent at which the cloud-point temperature takes the lowest value. This minimum cloud-point temperature composition of the mixed solvent turned out to be almost independent of the polymer concentration, at least within the measured dilute region below the weight fraction 0.25. On the basis of the assumption that the phase separation is closely related to the preferential adsorption of the solvents by hydrogen bonding, we employ a model solution of Flory-Huggins type, augmented with direct and cooperative polymer-solvent hydrogen bonds, to construct the ternary phase diagrams. Theoretical calculation of the spinodal curves is performed, and the results are compared with the obtained experimental cloud-point data. The effect of molecular volume of the cosolvent is also studied within the same theoretical framework. Possibility for a upper critical solution temperature co-nonsolvency to appear for cosolvents with larger molecular volume is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Fumihiko Tanaka
- Department of Polymer Chemistry , Kyoto University , Katsura , Kyoto 615-8510 , Japan
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48
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Bharadwaj S, Sunil Kumar PB, Komura S, Deshpande AP. Kosmotropic effect leads to LCST decrease in thermoresponsive polymer solutions. J Chem Phys 2018; 148:084903. [DOI: 10.1063/1.5012838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Swaminath Bharadwaj
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036,
India
| | - P. B. Sunil Kumar
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad, Ahalia Integrated Campus, Kozhippara, Palakkad
678557, India
| | - Shigeyuki Komura
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo 192-0397,
Japan
| | - Abhijit P. Deshpande
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036,
India
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49
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Nayar D, van der Vegt NFA. Cosolvent Effects on Polymer Hydration Drive Hydrophobic Collapse. J Phys Chem B 2018; 122:3587-3595. [PMID: 29443520 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.7b10780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Water-mediated hydrophobic interactions play an important role in self-assembly processes, aqueous polymer solubility, and protein folding, to name a few. Cosolvents affect these interactions; however, the implications for hydrophobic polymer collapse and protein folding equilibria are not well-understood. This study examines cosolvent effects on the hydrophobic collapse equilibrium of a generic 32-mer hydrophobic polymer in urea, trimethylamine- N-oxide (TMAO), and acetone aqueous solutions using molecular dynamics simulations. Our results unveil a remarkable cosolvent-concentration-dependent behavior. Urea, TMAO, and acetone all shift the equilibrium toward collapsed structures below 2 M cosolvent concentration and, in turn, to unfolded structures at higher cosolvent concentrations, irrespective of the differences in cosolvent chemistry and the nature of cosolvent-water interactions. We find that weakly attractive polymer-water van der Waals interactions oppose polymer collapse in pure water, corroborating related observations reviewed by Ben-Amotz ( Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem. 2016, 67, 617-638). The cosolvents studied in the present work adsorb at the polymer/water interface and expel water molecules into the bulk, thereby effectively removing the dehydration energy penalty that opposes polymer collapse in pure water. At low cosolvent concentrations, this leads to cosolvent-induced stabilization of collapsed polymer structures. Only at sufficiently high cosolvent concentrations, polymer-cosolvent interactions favor polymer unfolding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Divya Nayar
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Center of Smart Interfaces , Technische Universität Darmstadt , Alarich-Weiss-Strasse 10 , 64287 , Darmstadt , Germany
| | - Nico F A van der Vegt
- Eduard-Zintl-Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Center of Smart Interfaces , Technische Universität Darmstadt , Alarich-Weiss-Strasse 10 , 64287 , Darmstadt , Germany
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50
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Pica A, Graziano G. On the cononsolvency behaviour of hydrophobic clusters in water–methanol solutions. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018; 20:7230-7235. [DOI: 10.1039/c7cp07943e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The solvent-excluded volume effect cannot rationalize the cononsolvency phenomenon of polymers, such as PNIPAM, in water–methanol solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Pica
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche
- Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II Complesso Universitario di Monte Sant’Angelo
- Napoli
- USA
| | - Giuseppe Graziano
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie
- Università del Sannio Via Port’Arsa 11
- Benevento 82100
- Italy
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