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Smith L, Karimi-Varzaneh HA, Finger S, Giunta G, Troisi A, Carbone P. Framework for a High-Throughput Screening Method to Assess Polymer/Plasticizer Miscibility: The Case of Hydrocarbons in Polyolefins. Macromolecules 2024; 57:4637-4647. [PMID: 38827962 PMCID: PMC11140736 DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.3c01764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Revised: 04/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
Polymer composite materials require softening to reduce their glass transition temperature and improve processability. To this end, plasticizers (PLs), which are small organic molecules, are added to the polymer matrix. The miscibility of these PLs has a large impact on their effectiveness and, therefore, their interactions with the polymer matrix must be carefully considered. Many PL characteristics, including their size, topology, and flexibility, can impact their miscibility and, because of the exponentially large number of PLs, the current trial-and-error approach is very ineffective. In this work, we show that using coarse-grained molecular simulations of a small dataset of 48 PLs, it is possible to identify topological and thermodynamic descriptors that are proxy for their miscibility. Using ad-hoc molecular dynamics simulation setups that are relatively computationally inexpensive, we establish correlations between the PLs' topology, internal flexibility, thermodynamics of aggregation, and degree of miscibility, and use these descriptors to classify the molecules as miscible or immiscible. With all available data, we also construct a decision tree model, which achieves a F1 score of 0.86 ± 0.01 with repeated, stratified 5-fold cross-validation, indicating that this machine learning method can be a promising route to fully automate the screening. By evaluating the individual performance of the descriptors, we show this procedure enables a 10-fold reduction of the test space and provides the basis for the development of workflows that can efficiently screen PLs with a variety of topological features. The approach is used here to screen for apolar PLs in polyisoprene melts, but similar proxies would be valid for other polyolefins, while, in cases where polar interactions drive the miscibility, other descriptors are likely to be needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lois Smith
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13
9PL Manchester, U.K.
| | | | - Sebastian Finger
- Continental
Reifen Deutschland GmbH, Jädekamp 30, D-30419 Hanover, Germany
| | - Giuliana Giunta
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13
9PL Manchester, U.K.
- BASF, Carl-Bosch-Strasse 38, 67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Alessandro Troisi
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Liverpool, Crown Street, L69 7ZD Liverpool, U.K.
| | - Paola Carbone
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13
9PL Manchester, U.K.
- Department
of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL Manchester, U.K.
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Lavino AD, Carbone P, Marchisio D. MARTINI
coarse‐grained model for poly‐ε‐caprolactone in acetone‐water mixtures. CAN J CHEM ENG 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/cjce.23761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alessio D. Lavino
- Department of Applied Science and TechnologyPolitecnico di Torino Torino Italy
| | - Paola Carbone
- School of Chemical Engineering & Analytical ScienceThe University of Manchester Manchester UK
| | - Daniele Marchisio
- Department of Applied Science and TechnologyPolitecnico di Torino Torino Italy
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Giunta G, Carbone P. Cross-over in the dynamics of polymer confined between two liquids of different viscosity. Interface Focus 2019; 9:20180074. [PMID: 31065342 PMCID: PMC6501349 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2018.0074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Using molecular dynamics simulations, we analysed the polymer dynamics of chains of different molecular weights entrapped at the interface between two immiscible liquids. We showed that on increasing the viscosity of one of the two liquids the dynamic behaviour of the chain changes from a Zimm-like dynamics typical of dilute polymer solutions to a Rouse-like dynamics where hydrodynamic interactions are screened. We observed that when the polymer is in contact with a high viscosity liquid, the number of solvent molecules close to the polymer beads is reduced and ascribed the screening effect to this reduced number of polymer-solvent contacts. For the longest chain simulated, we calculated the distribution of loop length and compared the results with the theoretical distribution developed for solid/liquid interfaces. We showed that the polymer tends to form loops (although flat against the interface) and that the theory works reasonably well also for liquid/liquid interfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuliana Giunta
- School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
| | - Paola Carbone
- School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
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Avila-Salas F, Pereira A, Rojas MA, Saavedra-Torres M, Montecinos R, Bonardd S, Quezada C, Saldías S, Díaz Díaz D, Leiva A, Radic D, Saldías C. An experimental and theoretical comparative study of the entrapment and release of dexamethasone from micellar and vesicular aggregates of PAMAM-PCL dendrimers. Eur Polym J 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2017.06.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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Taddese T, Carbone P. Effect of Chain Length on the Partition Properties of Poly(ethylene oxide): Comparison between MARTINI Coarse-Grained and Atomistic Models. J Phys Chem B 2017; 121:1601-1609. [PMID: 28151665 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b10858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The MARTINI coarse-grained beads are parameterized to match the partition coefficients of several organic molecules in different solvents. Here, we test the method when modeling the partitioning properties of poly(ethylene oxide) between solvents of different polarities. We show that, among the existing models, the latest model developed by Lee and co-workers [ Lee , H. ; Pastor , R. W. J. Phys. Chem. B 2011 , 115 , 7830 - 7837 ] is the one that most successfully reproduces the hydration free energy of short oligomers, although it predicts highly negative solvation free energies in octanol and hexane. We develop a new CG model matching the solvation free energy of the monomer in different solvents and propose a simple method to select the Lennard-Jones parameters that reproduce the desired partition coefficients. The model correctly reproduces water/hexane partition properties for oligomers up to 10 monomers but still suffers from a transferability problem for larger molecular weight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tseden Taddese
- School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, The University of Manchester , Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, U.K
| | - Paola Carbone
- School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, The University of Manchester , Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, U.K
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Saldías C, Méndez-López M, Saavedra-Torres M, Pereira A, Rojas MA, Avila-Salas F, Bonardd S, Pino-Orellana M, Saldías S, Quezada C, Leiva A, Radic D. Interfacial behavior of PAMAM-PCL dendrimers and in situ spontaneous formation of gold nanoparticles at the toluene-water and air-water interfaces: Experimental and theoretical studies. Eur Polym J 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2016.09.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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Taddese T, Cheung DL, Carbone P. Scaling Behavior of Polymers at Liquid/Liquid Interfaces. ACS Macro Lett 2015; 4:1089-1093. [PMID: 35614809 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.5b00462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The dynamics of a polymer chain confined in a soft 2D slit formed by two immiscible liquids is studied by means of molecular dynamics simulations. We show that the scaling behavior of a polymer confined between two liquids does not follow that predicted for polymers adsorbed on solid or soft surfaces such as lipid bilayers. Indeed, our results show that in the diffusive regime the polymer behaves like in bulk solution, following the Zimm model, and with the hydrodynamic interactions dominating its dynamics. Although the presence of the interface does not affect the long-time diffusion properties, it has an influence on the dynamics at short time scale, where for low molecular weight polymers the subdiffusive regime almost disappears. Simulations carried out when the liquid interface is sandwiched between two solid walls show that, when the confinement is a few times larger than the blob size, the Rouse dynamics is recovered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tseden Taddese
- School
of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom
| | - David L. Cheung
- School
of Chemistry, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Paola Carbone
- School
of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom
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Kumar M, Patil NG, Choudhury CK, Roy S, Ambade AV, Kumaraswamy G. Compact polar moieties induce lipid-water systems to form discontinuous reverse micellar phase. SOFT MATTER 2015; 11:5417-5424. [PMID: 26023767 DOI: 10.1039/c5sm00854a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The role of molecular interactions in governing lipid mesophase organization is of fundamental interest and has technological implications. Herein, we describe an unusual pathway for monoolein/water reorganization from a bicontinuous mesophase to a discontinuous reverse micellar assembly, directed by the inclusion of polar macromolecules. This pathway is very different from those reported earlier, wherein the Fd3m phase formed only upon addition of apolar oils. Experiments and molecular dynamics simulations indicate that hydrophilic ternary additives capable of inducing discontinuous phase formation must (i) interact strongly with the monoolein head group and (ii) have a compact molecular architecture. We present a detailed investigation that contrasts a monoolein-water system containing polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrons with one containing their linear analogs. The Fd3m phase forms only on the addition of PAMAM dendrons but not their linear analogs. Thus, the dendritic architecture of PAMAM plays an important role in determining lipid mesophase behavior. Both dendrons and their linear analogs interact strongly with monoolein through their amine groups. However, while linear polymers adsorb and spread on monoolein, dendrons form aggregates that interact with the lipid. Dendrons induce formation of an intermediate reverse hexagonal phase, which subsequently restructures into the Fd3m phase. Finally, we demonstrate that other additives with compact structures that are known to interact with monoolein, such as branched polyethylenimine and polyhedral silsesquioxane cages, also induce the formation of the Fd3m phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manoj Kumar
- Complex Fluids and Polymer Engineering, Polymer Science and Engineering Division, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune 411008, Maharashtra, India.
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Taddese T, Carbone P, Cheung DL. Thermodynamics of linear and star polymers at fluid interfaces. SOFT MATTER 2015; 11:81-93. [PMID: 25366497 DOI: 10.1039/c4sm02102a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Performing molecular dynamics simulations on model systems we study the structural changes and thermodynamic stability of polymers of varying topology (linear and star-shaped) at interface between two liquids. We find that homopolymers are attracted to the interface in both good and poor solvent conditions showing that they are surface active molecules even though not amphiphilic. In most cases changing polymer topology had only a minor effect on the desorption free energy. A noticeable dependence on polymer topology is only seen for relatively high molecular weight polymers at interface between two good solvents. Examining separately the enthalpic and entropic components of the desorption free energy suggests that its largest contribution is the decrease in the enthalpic part of interfacial free energy caused by the adsorption of the polymer at the interface. Finally we propose a simple method to qualitatively predict the trend of the interfacial free energy as a function of the polymer molecular weight.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tseden Taddese
- School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
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Abstract
The behaviour of complex molecules, such as nanoparticles, polymers, and proteins, at liquid interfaces is of increasing importance in a number of areas of science and technology. It has long been recognised that solid particles adhere to liquid interfaces, which provides a convenient method for the preparation of nanoparticle structures or to modify interfacial properties. The adhesion of proteins at liquid interfaces is important in many biological processes and in a number of materials applications of biomolecules. While the reduced dimensions of these particles make experimental investigation challenging, molecular simulations provide a natural means for the study of these systems. In this paper I will give an overview of some recent work using molecular simulation to investigate the behaviour of complex molecules at liquid interfaces, focusing on the relationship between interfacial adsorption and molecular structure, and outline some avenues for future research.
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Hung WI, Chang CH, Chang YH, Wu PS, Hung CB, Chang KC, Lai MC, Hsu SC, Wei Y, Jia XR, Yeh JM. Self-assembly behavior of amphiphilic poly(amidoamine) dendrimers with a shell of aniline pentamer. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2013; 29:12075-12083. [PMID: 24011019 DOI: 10.1021/la403063t] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
A series of amphiphilic poly(amidoamine) dendrimers (PAMAM, G2-G5) composed of a hydrophilic core and a hydrophobic shell of aniline pentamer (AP) were synthesized and characterized. The modified dendrimers self-assembled to vesicular aggregates in water with the critical aggregation concentration (CAC) decreased in the order of G2 > G3 > G4 > G5. It was found that the modified dendrimers self-organized into spherical aggregates with a bilayer vesicular structures and that the dendrimers in higher generation have more order structure, which may be attributed to the crystallization induced by the compacted effect of AP segments. In addition, larger spherical vesicles were observed under acidic and alkaline conditions, as compared with sizes of aggregates in neutral medium. At low pH, the tertiary amine groups of PAMAM-AP were transformed to ammonium salts; the polarons were formed from AP units by doping with strong acids, thereby leading to the stability of vesicular aggregates being better than that in double distilled water. Nevertheless, in high pH environment, the deprotonation of PAMAM-AP caused the enhancement of π-π interactions, resulting in generation of twins or multilayered vesicles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-I Hung
- Department of Chemistry, Center for Nanotechnology at CYCU, Chung-Yuan Christian University , Chung Li 32023, Taiwan , R. O. C
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Pani RC, Yingling YG. Role of Solvent and Dendritic Architecture on the Redox Core Encapsulation. J Phys Chem A 2012; 116:7593-9. [DOI: 10.1021/jp304253g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Rakhee C. Pani
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, 911
Partners Way, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | - Yaroslava G. Yingling
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, 911
Partners Way, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
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