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Ren T, Hinton ZR, Huang R, Epps TH, Korley L, Gorte RJ, Lee D. Increase in the effective viscosity of polyethylene under extreme nanoconfinement. J Chem Phys 2024; 160:024909. [PMID: 38214386 DOI: 10.1063/5.0185144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding polymer transport in nanopores is crucial for optimizing heterogeneously catalyzed processes in polymer upcycling and fabricating high-performance nanocomposite films and membranes. Although confined polymer dynamics have been extensively studied, the behavior of polyethylene (PE)-the most widely used commodity polymer-in pores smaller than 20 nm remains largely unexplored. We investigate the effects of extreme nanoconfinement on PE transport using capillary rise infiltration in silica nanoparticle packings with average pore radii ranging from ∼1 to ∼9 nm. Using in situ ellipsometry and the Lucas-Washburn model, we discover a previously unknown inverse relationship between effective viscosity (ηeff) and average pore radius (Rpore). Additonally, we determine that PE transport under these extreme conditions is primarily governed by physical confinement, rather than pore surface chemistry. We refine an existing theory to provide a generalized formalism to describe the polymer transport dynamics over a wide range of pore radii (from 1 nm and larger). Our results offer valuable insights for optimizing catalyst supports in polymer upcycling and improving infiltration processes for nanocomposite fabrication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tian Ren
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
- Center for Plastics Innovation, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
| | - Zachary R Hinton
- Center for Plastics Innovation, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
| | - Renjing Huang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Thomas H Epps
- Center for Plastics Innovation, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
| | - LaShanda Korley
- Center for Plastics Innovation, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
| | - Raymond J Gorte
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
- Center for Plastics Innovation, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
| | - Daeyeon Lee
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
- Center for Plastics Innovation, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA
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Venkatesh RB, Lee D. Conflicting Effects of Extreme Nanoconfinement on the Translational and Segmental Motion of Entangled Polymers. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c00145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- R. Bharath Venkatesh
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Daeyeon Lee
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
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