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Yang Z, Xu X, Douglas JF, Xu WS. Confinement effect of inter-arm interactions on glass formation in star polymer melts. J Chem Phys 2024; 160:044503. [PMID: 38265089 DOI: 10.1063/5.0185412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 12/25/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024] Open
Abstract
We utilized molecular dynamic simulation to investigate the glass formation of star polymer melts in which the topological complexity is varied by altering the number of star arms (f). Emphasis was placed on how the "confinement effect" of repulsive inter-arm interactions within star polymers influences the thermodynamics and dynamics of star polymer melts. All the characteristic temperatures of glass formation were found to progressively increase with increasing f, but unexpectedly the fragility parameter KVFT was found to decrease with increasing f. As previously observed, stars having more than 5 or 6 arms adopt an average particle-like structure that is more contracted relative to the linear polymer size having the same mass and exhibit a strong tendency for intermolecular and intramolecular segregation. We systematically analyzed how varying f alters collective particle motion, dynamic heterogeneity, the decoupling exponent ζ phenomenologically linking the slow β- and α-relaxation times, and the thermodynamic scaling index γt. Consistent with our hypothesis that the segmental dynamics of many-arm star melts and thin supported polymer films should exhibit similar trends arising from the common feature of high local segmental confinement, we found that ζ increases considerably with increasing f, as found in supported polymer films with decreasing thickness. Furthermore, increasing f led to greatly enhanced elastic heterogeneity, and this phenomenon correlates strongly with changes in ζ and γt. Our observations should be helpful in building a more rational theoretical framework for understanding how molecular topology and geometrical confinement influence the dynamics of glass-forming materials more broadly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenyue Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, People's Republic of China
- Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaolei Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, People's Republic of China
| | - Jack F Douglas
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
| | - Wen-Sheng Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, People's Republic of China
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2
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Wang Y, Li Z, Sun D, Jiang N, Niu K, Giuntoli A, Xia W. Understanding the thermomechanical behavior of graphene-reinforced conjugated polymer nanocomposites via coarse-grained modeling. NANOSCALE 2023; 15:17124-17137. [PMID: 37850476 DOI: 10.1039/d3nr03618a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2023]
Abstract
Graphene-reinforced conjugated polymer (CP) nanocomposites are attractive for flexible and electronic devices, but their mechanical properties have been less explored at a fundamental level. Here, we present a predictive multiscale modeling framework for graphene-reinforced poly(3-alkylthiophene) (P3AT) nanocomposites via atomistically informed coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to investigate temperature-dependent thermomechanical properties at a molecular level. Our results reveal reduced graphene dispersion with increasing graphene loading. Nanocomposites with shorter P3AT side chains, lower temperatures, and higher graphene content exhibit stronger mechanical responses, which correlates with polymer dynamics. The elastic modulus increases linearly with the graphene content, which slightly deviates from the "Halpin-Tsai" micromechanical model prediction. Local stiffness analysis shows that graphene possesses the highest stiffness, followed by the P3AT backbone and side chains. Deformation-induced stronger chain alignment of the P3AT backbone compared to graphene may further promote conductive behavior. Our findings provide insights into the dynamical heterogeneity of nanocomposites, paving the way for understanding and predicting their thermomechanical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Wang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China.
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, 9747AG, The Netherlands.
| | - Zhaofan Li
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
| | - Dali Sun
- Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80210, USA
| | - Naisheng Jiang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China.
| | - Kangmin Niu
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China.
| | - Andrea Giuntoli
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, 9747AG, The Netherlands.
| | - Wenjie Xia
- Department of Aerospace Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
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3
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New Kinetics Equation for Stress Relaxation of Semi-crystalline Polymers below Glass Transition Temperature. CHINESE JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10118-022-2749-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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4
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Xu WS, Sun ZY. A Thermodynamic Perspective on Polymer Glass Formation. CHINESE JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10118-023-2951-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
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5
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Ginzburg VV, Zaccone A, Casalini R. Combined description of pressure-volume-temperature and dielectric relaxation of several polymeric and low-molecular-weight organic glass-formers using SL-TS2 approach. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:8456-8466. [PMID: 36314736 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm01049f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
We apply our recently-developed mean-field "SL-TS2" (two-state Sanchez-Lacombe) model to simultaneously describe dielectric α-relaxation time, τα, and pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) data in four polymers (polystyrene, poly(methylmethacrylate), poly(vinyl acetate) and poly(cyclohexane methyl acrylate)) and four organic molecular glass formers (ortho-terphenyl, glycerol, PCB-62, and PDE). Previously, it has been shown that for all eight materials, the Casalini-Roland thermodynamical scaling, τα = f(Tvγsp) (where T is temperature and vsp is specific volume) is satisfied (R. Casalini and C. M. Roland, Phys. Rev. E, 2004, 69(6), 62501). It has also been previously shown that the same scaling emerges naturally (for sufficiently low pressures) within the "SL-TS2" framework (V. V. Ginzburg, Soft Matter, 2021, 17, 9094-9106). Here, we fit the ambient pressure curves for the relaxation time and the specific volume as functions of temperature for the eight materials and observe a good agreement between theory and experiment. We then use the Casalini-Roland scaling to convert those results into "master curves", thus enabling predictions of relaxation times and specific volumes at elevated pressures. The proposed approach can be used to describe other glass-forming materials, both low-molecular-weight and polymeric.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valeriy V Ginzburg
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
| | - Alessio Zaccone
- Department of Physics, University of Milan, via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Riccardo Casalini
- Chemistry Division, Naval Research Laboratory, 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20375, USA
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6
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Xu X, Douglas JF, Xu WS. Thermodynamic–Dynamic Interrelations in Glass-Forming Polymer Fluids. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolei Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
| | - Jack F. Douglas
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Wen-Sheng Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
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Zhu Y, Luo J, Zou Q, Ouyang X, Ruan Y, Liu Y, Liu G. Glassy feature in melts of 3-dimensional architectured polymer blends. POLYMER 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2021.124336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Liu C, Fan Y. Emergent Fractal Energy Landscape as the Origin of Stress-Accelerated Dynamics in Amorphous Solids. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2021; 127:215502. [PMID: 34860096 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.127.215502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The ageing dynamics in a multiplicity of metastable glasses are investigated at various thermomechanical conditions. By using data analytics to deconvolute the integral effects of environmental factors (e.g., energy level, temperature, stress), and by directly scrutinizing the minimum energy pathways for local excitations, we demonstrate external shear would make the system's energy landscape surprisingly fractal and create an emergent low-barrier mode with highly tortuous pathways, leading to an accelerated relaxation. This finding marks a departure from the classic picture of shear-induced simple bias of energy landscape. The insights and implications of this study are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaoyi Liu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
| | - Yue Fan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
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Yang Z, Xu X, Xu WS. Influence of Ionic Interaction Strength on Glass Formation of an Ion-Containing Polymer Melt. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c01719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zhenyue Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
| | - Xiaolei Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
| | - Wen-Sheng Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
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Phan AD, Ngan NK, Le NB, Thanh LTM. Toward a Better Understanding of Activation Volume and Dynamic Decoupling of Glass‐Forming Liquids under Compression. MACROMOL THEOR SIMUL 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/mats.202100035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anh D. Phan
- Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering Phenikaa University Hanoi 12116 Vietnam
- Phenikaa Institute for Advanced Study Phenikaa University Hanoi 12116 Vietnam
| | - Nguyen K. Ngan
- Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering Phenikaa University Hanoi 12116 Vietnam
| | - Nam B. Le
- School of Engineering Physics Hanoi University of Science and Technology 1 Dai Co Viet Hanoi 10000 Vietnam
| | - Le T. M. Thanh
- Faculty of Basic Science Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology 122 Hoang Quoc Viet Hanoi 10000 Vietnam
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11
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Xu X, Douglas JF, Xu WS. Influence of Side-Chain Length and Relative Rigidities of Backbone and Side Chains on Glass Formation of Branched Polymers. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c00834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolei Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
| | - Jack F. Douglas
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Wen-Sheng Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
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12
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Douglas JF, Xu WS. Equation of State and Entropy Theory Approach to Thermodynamic Scaling in Polymeric Glass-Forming Liquids. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c00075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jack F. Douglas
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Wen-Sheng Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
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Mahmud G, Zhang H, Douglas JF. Localization model description of the interfacial dynamics of crystalline Cu and [Formula: see text] metallic glass nanoparticles. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. E, SOFT MATTER 2021; 44:33. [PMID: 33728521 DOI: 10.1140/epje/s10189-021-00022-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Many of the special properties of nanoparticles (NPs) and nanomaterials broadly derive from the significant fraction of particles (atoms, molecules or segments of polymeric molecules) in the NP interfacial region in which the interparticle interactions are characteristically highly anharmonic in comparison to the bulk material. This leads to relatively large mean square particle displacements relative to the material interior, often resulting in a strong increase interfacial mobility and reactivity in both crystalline and glass NPs. The 'Debye-Waller factor', or the mean square particle displacement [Formula: see text] on a ps 'caging' timescale relative to the square of the average interparticle distance [Formula: see text], provides an often experimentally accessible measure of the strength of this anharmonic interaction. The Localization Model (LM) of the dynamics of condensed materials relates this thermodynamic property to the structural relaxation time [Formula: see text], determined from the intermediate scattering function, without any free parameters. Moreover, the LM allows for the prediction of the diffusion coefficient D when combined with the 'decoupling' or Fractional Stokes-Einstein relation linking [Formula: see text] to D. In the current study, we employed classical molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the structural relaxation and diffusion of model [Formula: see text] metallic glass and Cu crystalline NPs with different sizes. As with previous studies validating the LM on model bulk and crystalline materials, and for the interfacial dynamics of thin crystalline and metallic glass films, we find the LM model also describes the interfacial dynamics of model crystalline metal (Cu) and metallic glass ([Formula: see text] NPs to a good approximation, further confirming the generality of the model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gazi Mahmud
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Hao Zhang
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1H9, Canada.
| | - Jack F Douglas
- Material Measurement Laboratory, Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Maryland, 20899, USA.
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14
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Ginzburg VV. Modeling the Glass Transition and Glassy Dynamics of Random Copolymers Using the TS2 Mean-Field Approach. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c00024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Valeriy V. Ginzburg
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Michigan State University, 428 S. Shaw Lane, Room 2100, East Lansing, Michigan 48824-1226, United States
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15
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Karuth A, Alesadi A, Xia W, Rasulev B. Predicting glass transition of amorphous polymers by application of cheminformatics and molecular dynamics simulations. POLYMER 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2021.123495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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16
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Xu WS, Douglas JF, Sun ZY. Polymer Glass Formation: Role of Activation Free Energy, Configurational Entropy, and Collective Motion. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c02740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Sheng Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
| | - Jack F. Douglas
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Zhao-Yan Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
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Xu WS, Douglas JF, Xu X. Role of Cohesive Energy in Glass Formation of Polymers with and without Bending Constraints. Macromolecules 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c01876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Sheng Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
| | - Jack F. Douglas
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Xiaolei Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
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Xu WS, Douglas JF, Xia W, Xu X. Investigation of the Temperature Dependence of Activation Volume in Glass-Forming Polymer Melts under Variable Pressure Conditions. Macromolecules 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c01268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Sheng Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
| | - Jack F. Douglas
- Material Measurement Laboratory, Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Wenjie Xia
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108, United States
| | - Xiaolei Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, P. R. China
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