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Li CX, Mao JY, Li SJ, Wang Y, Liu H. A long chain-induced depletion effect for abnormal grafting in the preparation of bimodal bidisperse polymer-grafted nanoparticles. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:5627-5637. [PMID: 36727641 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp04229k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
One of the challenging problems in the research field of polymer nanocomposites is how to prepare nanocomposites with high grafting density and strong ability of dispersion at the same time. For nanocomposites composed of bimodal bidisperse polymer chains and nanoparticles, the above requirements can be met by rationally adjusting the ratio of long and short polymer chains. In this study, the process of grafting bimodal bidisperse polymer chains onto the surface of nanoparticles in a grafting-to manner was investigated via computer simulation and theoretical methods. Three grafting strategies were designed: first short then long (SL) system, both short and long (Both) system and first long then short (LS) system. An abnormal phenomenon for the Both system was found by analyzing the grafting density of long and short polymer chains on the surface of nanoparticles. We speculate that the reason for this anomalous phenomenon is the "depletion effect" brought about by the long chains in the Both system. We employ the Polymer Reference Interaction Site Model (PRISM) theory to investigate this anomaly in-depth. By comparing the radial distribution function (RDF) predicted by the PRISM theory with the RDF results obtained by the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, we found that with the increase of the number of long chains in the system, the grafting density of short polymer chains on the nanoparticle surface showed an obvious upward trend. The "depletion effect" brought by long chains was the main reason for higher short chains' grafting density of the Both system compared to the SL system. Our findings provide effective guidance for the design of nanoparticle-grafted bimodal bidisperse polymer chains and provide a theoretical basis for experimentation and production of polymer nanocomposites with better performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chu-Xiang Li
- Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510006, People's Republic of China
| | - Jin-Yuan Mao
- South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School of Molecular Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China.,South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School of Molecular Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Shu-Jia Li
- Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment Ministry of Education, School of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510006, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment Ministry of Education, School of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510006, People's Republic of China.
| | - Hong Liu
- Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment Ministry of Education, School of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510006, People's Republic of China.
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