1
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Dorenbos G. How fork-length asymmetry affects solvent connectivity and diffusion in grafted polymeric model membranes. J Chem Phys 2024; 160:064901. [PMID: 38341779 DOI: 10.1063/5.0193120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The hydrophilic pore morphology and solvent diffusion within model (amphiphilic) polymer membranes are simulated by dissipative particle dynamics (DPD). The polymers are composed of a backbone of 18 covalently bonded A beads to which at regular intervals side chains are attached. The side chains are composed of linear Ap chains (i.e., -A1-A2…Ap) from which two branches, [AsC] and [ArC], split off (s ≤ r). C beads serve as functionalized hydrophilic pendent sites. The branch lengths (s + 1 and r + 1) are varied. Five repeat unit designs (with general formula A3[Ap[AsC][ArC]]) are considered: A2[A3C][A3C] (symmetric branching), A2[A2C][A4C], A2[AC][A5C], A2[C][A6C] (highly asymmetric branching), and A4[AC][A3C]. The distribution of water (W) and W diffusion through nanophase segregated hydrophilic pores is studied. For similar primary length p, an increase in side chain symmetry favors hydrophilic pore connectivity and long-range water transport. C beads located on the longer [ArC] branches reveal the highest C bead mobility and are more strongly associated with water than the C beads on the shorter [AsC] branches. The connectivity of hydrophilic (W and W + C) phases through mapped replica of selected snapshots obtained from Monte Carlo tracer diffusion simulations is in line with trends found from the W bead diffusivities during DPD simulations. The diffusive pathways for protons (H+) in proton exchange membranes and for hydronium (OH-) in anion exchange membranes are the same as for solvents. Therefore, control of the side chain architecture is an interesting design parameter for optimizing membrane conductivities.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Dorenbos
- Private research, Sano 1107-2, Belle Crea 502, 410-1118 Susono, Japan
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2
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Dorenbos G. Simulated and Experimental Trends Regarding Water Uptake in Polymeric Electrolyte Membranes. J Phys Chem B 2023; 127:9630-9641. [PMID: 37882051 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c05309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
Polymeric membranes in an anion or a proton exchange membrane fuel cell need sufficient hydration in order to provide a high hydroxide ion or proton conductivity. The water uptake for six model ionomer membranes, all of the same ion exchange capacity, is modeled by dissipative particle dynamics. The architectures cover three types of families that are of potential interest in fuel cell membrane research. All architectures consist of connected hydrophobic backbone A beads, to which side chains are grafted. For the type I family, the hydrophilic (functional) C beads are pendent on (amphiphilic) [AxC] side chains. The type II architecture contains both hydrophobic [A4] and short hydrophilic [C] side chains. For type III, the C beads are embedded along various locations within the [AxCAy] side chains (x + y = constant). For similar equilibrium time, the membrane water volume fraction increases with side chain length x for type I, and for type III, it increases with the distance x that C beads are separated from the backbone. Among the architectures (types I and III) for which the number of covalent C-A bonds are the same, the water uptake increases with the average number of A-A and A-C bonds (dpd springs) between A beads and the nearest C bead. A picture emerges in which for similar ion exchange capacity model membranes water uptake increases as a function of ⟨Nbondphob-phyl⟩.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Dorenbos
- Private Researcher, Belle Crea 502, 1107-2 Susono 410-1118, Japan
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3
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Metaj I, Hajdini D, Gliha K, Košir IJ, Ocvirk M, Kolar M, Cerar J. Extraction of Polyphenols from Slovenian Hop ( Humulus lupulus L.) Aurora Variety Using Deep Eutectic Solvents: Choice of the Extraction Method vs. Structure of the Solvent. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:2890. [PMID: 37631102 PMCID: PMC10459876 DOI: 10.3390/plants12162890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2023] [Revised: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Polyphenols from Slovenian hops (Humulus lupulus L.) of the Aurora variety were extracted by different methods and using classical solvents and several deep eutectic solvents (DES) based on choline chloride as the hydrogen bond acceptor component. The obtained extract solutions were analyzed by HPLC for the content of extracted α- and β-acids and extracted xanthohumol. It was found that choline chloride:phenol DES concentrated aqueous solution had an extraction efficiency close to that of diethyl ether, which is considered one of the best classical extraction solvents for polyphenols from hops. The comparison of the extraction efficiency with other choline chloride-based DESs showed that the chemical similarity of the phenol ring in the solvent DES with the polyphenols in hops may be crucial for a highly efficient extraction with choline chloride:phenol DES. On the other hand, the choice of extraction method and the viscosity of the solvents tested seem to play only a minor role in this respect. As far as we know, this is the first study to attempt to relate extraction efficiency in the extraction of hydrophobic solutes to the compressibility of the DES extractants, the latter of which may be correlated with the extent of hydrophobic hydration around the DES components. In addition, using the heating and stirring method for the preparation of choline chloride-based DES concentrated aqueous solutions we found no support for the occurrence of water in two different roles (in the structural and in the dilution role) in these solvents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilir Metaj
- Department of Food Technology with Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary, University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina”, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo; (I.M.); (D.H.)
| | - Drilon Hajdini
- Department of Food Technology with Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary, University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina”, 10000 Prishtina, Kosovo; (I.M.); (D.H.)
| | - Kaja Gliha
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Večna Pot 113, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (K.G.); (M.K.)
| | - Iztok Jože Košir
- Department for Agrochemistry and Brewing, Slovenian Institute of Hop Research and Brewing, 3310 Zalec, Slovenia; (I.J.K.); (M.O.)
| | - Miha Ocvirk
- Department for Agrochemistry and Brewing, Slovenian Institute of Hop Research and Brewing, 3310 Zalec, Slovenia; (I.J.K.); (M.O.)
| | - Mitja Kolar
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Večna Pot 113, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (K.G.); (M.K.)
| | - Janez Cerar
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Večna Pot 113, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (K.G.); (M.K.)
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Blovský T, Šindelka K, Limpouchová Z, Procházka K. Changes in Ion Concentrations upon the Binding of Short Polyelectrolytes on Phospholipid Bilayers: Computer Study Addressing Interesting Physiological Consequences. Polymers (Basel) 2022; 14:polym14173634. [PMID: 36080710 PMCID: PMC9459791 DOI: 10.3390/polym14173634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Revised: 08/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
This computer study was inspired by the experimental observation of Y. Qian et al. published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2018 that the short positively charged β-peptide chains and their oligomeric analogues efficiently suppress severe medical problems caused by antimicrobial drug-resistant bacteria despite them not penetrating the bacterial membrane. Our coarse-grained molecular dynamics (dissipative particle dynamics) simulations confirm the tentative explanation of the authors of the experimental study that the potent antimicrobial activity is a result of the entropically driven release of divalent ions (mainly magnesium ions essential for the proper biological function of bacteria) into bulk solution upon the electrostatic binding of β-peptides to the bacterial membrane. The study shows that in solutions containing cations Na+, Ca2+ and Mg2+, and anions Cl−, the divalent cations preferentially concentrate close to the membrane and neutralize the negative charge. Upon the addition of positively charged oligomer chains (models of β-peptides and their analogues), the oligomers electrostatically bind to the membrane replacing divalent ions, which are released into bulk solvent. Our simulations indicate that the entropy of small ions (which controls the behavior of synthetic polyelectrolyte solutions) plays an important role in this and also in other similar biologically important systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomáš Blovský
- The Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Hlavova 2030, 128 40 Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Karel Šindelka
- Department of Molecular and Mesoscopic Modelling, Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals of the Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Rozvojová 135/1, Suchdol, 165 02 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Zuzana Limpouchová
- The Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Hlavova 2030, 128 40 Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Karel Procházka
- The Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Hlavova 2030, 128 40 Prague 2, Czech Republic
- Correspondence:
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5
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Zhu Z, Paddison SJ. Perspective: Morphology and ion transport in ion-containing polymers from multiscale modeling and simulations. Front Chem 2022; 10:981508. [PMID: 36059884 PMCID: PMC9437359 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2022.981508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Ion-containing polymers are soft materials composed of polymeric chains and mobile ions. Over the past several decades they have been the focus of considerable research and development for their use as the electrolyte in energy conversion and storage devices. Recent and significant results obtained from multiscale simulations and modeling for proton exchange membranes (PEMs), anion exchange membranes (AEMs), and polymerized ionic liquids (polyILs) are reviewed. The interplay of morphology and ion transport is emphasized. We discuss the influences of polymer architecture, tethered ionic groups, rigidity of the backbone, solvents, and additives on both morphology and ion transport in terms of specific interactions. Novel design strategies are highlighted including precisely controlling molecular conformations to design highly ordered morphologies; tuning the solvation structure of hydronium or hydroxide ions in hydrated ion exchange membranes; turning negative ion-ion correlations to positive correlations to improve ionic conductivity in polyILs; and balancing the strength of noncovalent interactions. The design of single-ion conductors, well-defined supramolecular architectures with enhanced one-dimensional ion transport, and the understanding of the hierarchy of the specific interactions continue as challenges but promising goals for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stephen J. Paddison
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
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Chen QG, Lee MT. Anion Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cells Based on Quaternized Polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-polystyrene Triblock Copolymers with Spacer-Sidechain Design. Polymers (Basel) 2022; 14:polym14142860. [PMID: 35890636 PMCID: PMC9317406 DOI: 10.3390/polym14142860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
This work studied the polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-polystyrene (SEBS) triblock copolymers functionalized by butyl quaternary ammonium (C4Q) groups and alkyl side chains of different chain lengths (Cn, n = 0 to 24). The hydrated membrane morphology was modeled by dissipative particle dynamics simulation at hydration levels from 10 to 30. A hydroxide model was devised to characterize the diffusivity of anions under the coarse-grained framework. In general, the ionomers with alkyl side chains provided ion conductivity of a similar level at a lower ion exchange capacity. All hydrated SEBS–C4Q–Cn ionomers showed clear phase separation of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains, featuring 18.6 mS/cm to 36.8 mS/cm ion conductivity. The hydrophilic channels expanded as the water content increased, forming more effective ion conductive pathways. Introducing excess alkyl side chains enhanced the nano-segregation, leading to more ordered structures and longer correlation lengths of the aqueous phase. The membrane morphology was controlled by the length of alkyl side-chains as well as their tethering positions. Ionomers with functionalized side chains tethered on the same block resulted in well-connective water networks and higher conductivities. The detailed structural analysis provides synthesis guidelines to fabricate anion exchange membranes with improved performances.
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7
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Abstract
Ion-containing polymers have continued to be an important research focus for several decades due to their use as an electrolyte in energy storage and conversion devices. Elucidation of connections between the mesoscopic structure and multiscale dynamics of the ions and solvent remains incompletely understood. Coarse-grained modeling provides an efficient approach for exploring the structural and dynamical properties of these soft materials. The unique physicochemical properties of such polymers are of broad interest. In this review, we summarize the current development and understanding of the structure-property relationship of ion-containing polymers and provide insights into the design of such materials determined from coarse-grained modeling and simulations accompanying significant advances in experimental strategies. We specifically concentrate on three types of ion-containing polymers: proton exchange membranes (PEMs), anion exchange membranes (AEMs), and polymerized ionic liquids (polyILs). We posit that insight into the similarities and differences in these materials will lead to guidance in the rational design of high-performance novel materials with improved properties for various power source technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenghao Zhu
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Xubo Luo
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Stephen J Paddison
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
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8
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Faria BF, Vishnyakov AM. Simulation of surfactant adsorption at liquid-liquid interface: what we may expect from soft-core models?. J Chem Phys 2022; 157:094706. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0087363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The present work attempt to explore systematically the surfactant sorption at liquid-liquid interfaces with coarse-grained models targeting thermodynamic properties of reference liquid solutions. We employ dissipative particle dynamics with soft-core forcefield tested against experimental data on micellization of surfactants in water, and the previous results are reproduced in this work. We consider three different nonionic surfactants: hexaethylene glycol monododecyl ether (C12E6), 2-[4-(2,4,4-trimethylpentan-2-yl)phenoxy]ethanol) knows as Triton X-100 (TХ-100), and two alkyl glucoside surfactants (CnG1) with n-alkane tail fragments and a saccharide hydrophilic head at decane-water and toluene-water interfaces. For TX-100, we composed a model based on the literature forcefield and found a good agreement with the experimental CMC. The head-head interactions are of different origins for different surfactant groups: entropic repulsion between ethylene oxide chains of C12E6 and TX-100, and more chemically specific and complex interactions between the maltose heads of alkyl glucosides. We interpret our results with the Redlich-Peterson equation of monolayer adsorption in order to relate the adsorption to the bulk concentration of the surfactant and the interfacial tension. The densities of the adsorbed monolayer at CMC mostly agree with the experimental data, and a reasonable agreement was obtained for the interfacial tension at CMC. At the same time, we found significant discrepancies between the simulated and experimental adsorption isotherms. We explain them by the oversimplified forcefield: when the parameters are fitted to the free energies of bulk solutions, they may not correctly reproduce the interfacial free energies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Aleksey M Vishnyakov
- Computational and Data-Intensive Science and Engineering, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Russia
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9
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Chen IC, Lee MT. Rhamnolipid Biosurfactants for Oil Recovery: Salt Effects on the Structural Properties Investigated by Mesoscale Simulations. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:6223-6237. [PMID: 35224385 PMCID: PMC8867548 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c06741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Rhamnolipids (RLs) are biosurfactants produced by Pseudomonas. The biodegradability and the variety of their functionality make them suitable for environmental remediation and oil recovery. We use dissipative particle dynamics simulations to investigate the aggregation behaviors of ionic RL congeners with nonane in various operating conditions. Under zero-salinity conditions, all RL congeners studied here form small ellipsoidal clusters with detectable free surfactants. When salt ions are present, the electrostatic repulsion between the ionized heads is overcome, resulting in the formation of larger aggregates of unique structures. RLs with C10-alkyl tails tend to form elongated wormlike micelles, while RLs with C16-alkyl tails tend to form clusters in spherical symmetry, including vesicles. Di-rhamnolipids (dRLs) require stronger solvation than monorhamnolipids (mRLs) to form clusters, and the resulting size of micelles is decreased. The morphology of the mixed dRL/mRL/oil systems is controlled based on the type of the congeners and the oil contents. In addition, the divalent calcium ions are found to be influential to the structure of the micelles through different mechanisms. For 5 wt % salinity, the ionic RLs can form oil-swollen micelles up to a 1:1 surfactant-to-oil ratio, suggesting that ionic RLs are superb to act as cleaning agents for petroleum hydrocarbons in the marine area. These key findings may guide the design for RL-based washing techniques in enhanced oil recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- I-Chin Chen
- Department of Chemical Engineering
and Biotechnology, National Taipei University
of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Tsung Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering
and Biotechnology, National Taipei University
of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan
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10
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Procházka K, Limpouchová Z, Štěpánek M, Šindelka K, Lísal M. DPD Modelling of the Self- and Co-Assembly of Polymers and Polyelectrolytes in Aqueous Media: Impact on Polymer Science. Polymers (Basel) 2022; 14:404. [PMID: 35160394 PMCID: PMC8838752 DOI: 10.3390/polym14030404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
This review article is addressed to a broad community of polymer scientists. We outline and analyse the fundamentals of the dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulation method from the point of view of polymer physics and review the articles on polymer systems published in approximately the last two decades, focusing on their impact on macromolecular science. Special attention is devoted to polymer and polyelectrolyte self- and co-assembly and self-organisation and to the problems connected with the implementation of explicit electrostatics in DPD numerical machinery. Critical analysis of the results of a number of successful DPD studies of complex polymer systems published recently documents the importance and suitability of this coarse-grained method for studying polymer systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karel Procházka
- Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 8, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic; (Z.L.); (M.Š.)
| | - Zuzana Limpouchová
- Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 8, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic; (Z.L.); (M.Š.)
| | - Miroslav Štěpánek
- Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 8, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic; (Z.L.); (M.Š.)
| | - Karel Šindelka
- Department of Molecular and Mesoscopic Modelling, Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals, Czech Academy of Sciences, Rozvojová 135, 165 02 Prague, Czech Republic; (K.Š.); (M.L.)
| | - Martin Lísal
- Department of Molecular and Mesoscopic Modelling, Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals, Czech Academy of Sciences, Rozvojová 135, 165 02 Prague, Czech Republic; (K.Š.); (M.L.)
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Pasteurova 3632, 400 96 Ústí n. Labem, Czech Republic
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11
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Vishnyakov A, Mao R, Kam K, Potanin A, Neimark AV. Interactions of Crosslinked Polyacrylic Acid Polyelectrolyte Gels with Nonionic and Ionic Surfactants. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:13817-13828. [PMID: 34905689 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c08638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The morphology and stability of surfactant-loaded polyelectrolyte gels are of great interest for a variety of personal care, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical products. However, the mechanisms of surfactant interactions with gel-forming polymers are poorly understood and experimentally challenging. The aim of this work is to explore in silico the specifics of surfactant absorption within polyelectrolyte gels drawing on the examples of typical non-ionic octaethylene glycol monooctyl ether (C8E8) and anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactants and polyacrylic acid modified with hydrophobic sidechains mimicking the practically important Carbopol polymer. Using the systematically parameterized coarse-grained dissipative particle dynamics models, we generate and characterize the equilibrium conformations and swelling of the polymer films in aqueous solutions with the surfactant concentrations varied up to the critical micelle concentration (cmc). We discover the striking difference in interactions of Carbopol-like polymers with nonionic and ionic surfactants under mildly acidic conditions. The sorption of C8E8 within the polymer film is found substantial. As the surfactant concentration increases, the polymer film swells and, close to cmc, becomes unstable due to the formation and growth of water pockets filled with surfactant micelles. Sorption of SDS at the same bulk concentrations is found much lower, with only about 1% of surfactant mass fraction achieved at cmc. As the SDS concentration increases further, a lamellae structure is formed within the film, which remains stable. Reduced swelling and higher stability indicate better prospects of using SDS-type surfactants with Carbopol-based gels in formulations for detergents and personal care products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksey Vishnyakov
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08854, United States.,Skolkovo Institute of Technology, Moscow 143005, Russia
| | - Runfang Mao
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Kimberly Kam
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Andrei Potanin
- Colgate-Palmolive, Piscataway, New Jersey 08855, United States
| | - Alexander V Neimark
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08854, United States
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12
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Sgouros AP, Knippenberg S, Guillaume M, Theodorou DN. Multiscale simulations of polyzwitterions in aqueous bulk solutions and brush array configurations. SOFT MATTER 2021; 17:10873-10890. [PMID: 34807216 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm01255j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Zwitterionic polymers are very promising candidates for antifouling materials that exhibit high chemical stability as compared to polyethylene glycol-based systems. A number of simulation and experimental studies have emerged over recent years for the investigation of sulfobetaine-based zwitterionic polymers. Investigating the structural and thermodynamic properties of such polymers requires access to broad time and length regimes, thus necessitating the development of multiscale simulation strategies. The present article advocates a mesoscopic dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) model capable of addressing a wide range of time and length scales. The mesoscopic force field was developed hand-in-hand with atomistic simulations based on the OPLS force field through a bottom-up parameterization procedure that matches the atomistically calculated strand-length, strand-angle and pair distribution functions. The DPD model is validated against atomistic simulations conducted in this work, and against relevant atomistic simulation studies, theoretical predictions and experimental correlations from the literature. Properties examined include the conformations of SPE polymers in dilute bulk aqueous solution, the density profile and thickness of brush arrays as functions of the grafting density and chain length. In addition, we compute the potential of mean force of an approaching hydrophilic or hydrophobic foulant via umbrella sampling as a function of its position relative to the poly-zwitterion-covered surface. The aforementioned observables lead to important insights regarding the conformational tendencies of grafted polyzwitterions and their antifouling properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aristotelis P Sgouros
- School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 9 Heroon Polytechniou Street, Zografou Campus, GR-15780 Athens, Greece.
| | - Stefan Knippenberg
- Solid State Battery Applicability Laboratory, Solvay SA, 310 Rue de Ransbeek, B-1120 Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Maxime Guillaume
- Solid State Battery Applicability Laboratory, Solvay SA, 310 Rue de Ransbeek, B-1120 Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Doros N Theodorou
- School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 9 Heroon Polytechniou Street, Zografou Campus, GR-15780 Athens, Greece.
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13
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Santo KP, Neimark AV. Dissipative particle dynamics simulations in colloid and Interface science: a review. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 2021; 298:102545. [PMID: 34757286 DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2021.102545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Revised: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) is one of the most efficient mesoscale coarse-grained methodologies for modeling soft matter systems. Here, we comprehensively review the progress in theoretical formulations, parametrization strategies, and applications of DPD over the last two decades. DPD bridges the gap between the microscopic atomistic and macroscopic continuum length and time scales. Numerous efforts have been performed to improve the computational efficiency and to develop advanced versions and modifications of the original DPD framework. The progress in the parametrization techniques that can reproduce the engineering properties of experimental systems attracted a lot of interest from the industrial community longing to use DPD to characterize, help design and optimize the practical products. While there are still areas for improvements, DPD has been efficiently applied to numerous colloidal and interfacial phenomena involving phase separations, self-assembly, and transport in polymeric, surfactant, nanoparticle, and biomolecules systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kolattukudy P Santo
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, United States
| | - Alexander V Neimark
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, United States.
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14
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Santo KP, Neimark AV. Effects of metal-polymer complexation on structure and transport properties of metal-substituted polyelectrolyte membranes. J Colloid Interface Sci 2021; 602:654-668. [PMID: 34147755 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2021.06.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Morphological and transport properties of hydrated metal-substituted Nafion membranes doped with metal ions of different valency and coordination strength are explored using coarse-grained dissipative particle dynamics simulations. To incorporate the effects of metal-polymer complexation, we introduce a novel metal ion complexation model, in which the charged central metal ion is surrounded by dummy sites that coordinate with ligands. The model parameters are determined by matching the metal-ligand running coordination numbers and the diffusion coefficients obtained from atomistic simulations and/or experiments. The increase of valency and coordination strength is found to strongly influence both the morphology and transport characteristics of the membrane at all hydration levels. The membrane segregation into hydrophobic and hydrophilic sub-phases is affected by metal-sulphonate coordination induced crosslinking at the hydrophilic/hydrophobic interface. The simulation results indicate that the interfacial crosslinking influences the interfacial tension and thereby affect the growth and coalescence of water clusters upon the increase of hydration. Multivalent complexation hinders water and ion mobility and causes anomalous sub-diffusion and dramatic decrease of the water permeability and ionic conductivity. Our DPD model is found efficient in elucidating the mechanisms of coordination-induced cross-linking and complexation and predicting on a semi-quantitative level the morphological and transport properties of metal-substituted Nafion membranes depending on the ion valency and coordination strength. The proposed model can be further advanced and adopted for other polyelectrolyte systems, such as sulfonated block-copolymers, polysaccharide solutions and composites, and biopolymer assemblies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kolattukudy P Santo
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 98 Brett Rd, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Alexander V Neimark
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 98 Brett Rd, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
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15
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Lee MT. Micellization of Rhamnolipid Biosurfactants and Their Applications in Oil Recovery: Insights from Mesoscale Simulations. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:9895-9909. [PMID: 34423979 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c05802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) mesoscopic method is used to investigate the self-assembly of rhamnolipid congeners and their aggregation behaviors with paraffins including nonane and pentadecane. The coarse-grained force field is parameterized by combining molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, COSMOtherm calculations, and available experimental data. This model reproduces the vesicular formation of α-l-rhamnopyranosyl-β-hydroxydecanoyl-β-hydroxydecanoate (Rha-C10-C10) reported by all-atom MD simulations. The vesicle composed of Rha-C10-C10 is found to be most stable at a surfactant concentration of 100-146 mM based on asphericity analysis. The architecture of rhamnolipid congeners affects the morphology of their aggregates. Di-rhamno-di-lipidic dRha-C16-C16 forms vesicles with a thicker unilamellar layer of 3.2 nm. Rha-C16-C16 forms vesicles at a lower concentration of 70 mM, but the enclosed water space collapses when the surfactant concentration increases. dRha-C10-C10 forms wormlike micelles, which agglomerate into a torus and interconnected network at higher concentrations. In the presence of alkane molecules, dRha-C10-C10 maintains its wormlike micellar morphology with alkane molecules wrapped inside the aggregates. For Rha-C10-C10, Rha-C16-C16, and dRha-C16-C16, nonane molecules are distributed in the hydrophobic subdomain formed by rhamnolipid molecules. Spherical vesicles are formed at a surfactant concentration of 50 mM and then develop into ellipsoidal vesicles when the concentration increases to 125 mM. When mixed with pentadecane, the alkane molecules are aggregated and surrounded by surfactants forming a core-shell structure at a low surfactant concentration of 20 mM. At higher alkane and surfactant concentrations, the morphologies develop into disk micelles, wormlike micelles, and vesicles, with pentadecane molecules being distributed and packed with rhamnolipids. The obtained simulation results suggest that these biosurfactants have potential as environmental remediation agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Tsung Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan
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16
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Chiangraeng N, Keyen U, Yoshida N, Nimmanpipug P. Temperature-responsive morphology formation of a PS- b-PI copolymer: a dissipative particle dynamics simulation study. SOFT MATTER 2021; 17:6248-6258. [PMID: 34124726 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm00152c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Self-assembly responsiveness to stimuli of polystyrene-block-polyisoprene (PS-b-PI) diblock copolymer materials is explored by means of classical molecular dynamics (MD) and dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations. A concerted relationship between the parameters achieved from atomistic and DPD simulations is obtained for this molecular recognition as clearly pronounced in a phase transition. Effects of temperature, model size and composition on the morphological formation were systematically investigated for the diblock copolymeric system. Structural changes resulting in the evolution of rheology as well as an equilibrium ordered structure were analyzed in terms of order parameters and radial distribution functions. From our models, various morphologies were observed including discrete clusters (sphere-liked morphology), connected clusters (gyroid-liked morphology), hexagonally packed cylinders (HEX), connected cylinders, irregular cylinders, perfect lamellae, perforated lamellae and defected lamellae. Based on this finding, a bottom-up multi-scale simulation of the PS-b-PI diblock copolymer provides a link between equilibrium copolymeric morphologies and the crucial parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natthiti Chiangraeng
- Computational Simulation Modeling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and Center of Excellence in Materials Science and Technology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand. and Doctor of Philosophy Program in Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand
| | - Ukrit Keyen
- Computational Simulation Modeling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and Center of Excellence in Materials Science and Technology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.
| | - Norio Yoshida
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan
| | - Piyarat Nimmanpipug
- Computational Simulation Modeling Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and Center of Excellence in Materials Science and Technology, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand.
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17
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Lee MT. Designing Highly Conductive Block Copolymer-Based Anion Exchange Membranes by Mesoscale Simulations. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:2729-2740. [PMID: 33719456 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c10909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Hydroxide ion conductivity is a key aspect of anion exchange membranes and is mainly determined by the nanoscale membrane morphologies. Fundamental understanding of the structural and transport properties of membranes in terms of polymer architectures is crucial for future development of membrane-based applications. Using mesoscale simulations, this work predicts the mesostructure of the hydrated triblock copolymers; the designed polymers are composed of aromatic (polyphenylene oxide, PPO) or aliphatic (polystyrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene, SEBS) backbones, with cationic side chains being modified by hydrophobic or hydrophilic spacers. For PPO-based polymers, using octyl spacers creates a meshlike water network, yielding ion conductivity equal to 30.6 mS/cm at room temperature. For SEBS-based polymers, the nonmodified form is sufficient to produce ion-conducting pathways. Adding hydrophobic spacers further enhances the nanosegregation, and the membranes provide similar conductivity at a lower ion exchange capacity and water content. Adding hydrophilic spacers, however, has negative impacts on the ion transport. The side chains are in the stretched configurations, which sterically hinder the mobility of water and hydroxide ions. Such a resistance can be overcome by adapting multication side-chain designs, where large water channels are formed, yielding ion conductivity as high as 32.8 mS/cm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Tsung Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan
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18
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Shen KH, Fan M, Hall LM. Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Ion-Containing Polymers Using Generic Coarse-Grained Models. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c02557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kuan-Hsuan Shen
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Mengdi Fan
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Lisa M. Hall
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
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19
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Clark JA, Santiso EE, Frischknecht AL. Morphology and proton diffusion in a coarse-grained model of sulfonated poly(phenylenes). J Chem Phys 2019; 151:104901. [DOI: 10.1063/1.5116684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A. Clark
- Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
| | - Erik E. Santiso
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA
| | - Amalie L. Frischknecht
- Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185, USA
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20
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Minkara MS, Hembree RH, Jamadagni SN, Ghobadi AF, Eike DM, Siepmann JI. A new equation of state for homo-polymers in dissipative particle dynamics. J Chem Phys 2019; 150:124104. [PMID: 30927875 DOI: 10.1063/1.5058280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
A chain-revised Groot-Warren equation of state (crGW-EOS) was developed and tested to describe systems of homo-oligomeric chains in the framework of dissipative particle dynamics (DPD). First, thermodynamic perturbation theory is applied to introduce correction terms that account for the reduction in pressure with an increasing number of bonds at constant bead number density. Then, this EOS is modified by introducing a set of switching functions that yields an accurate second virial coefficient in the low-density limit. The crGW-EOS offers several improvements over the revised Groot-Warren equation of state and Groot-Warren equation of state for chain molecules. We tested the crGW-EOS by using it to predict the pressure of oligomeric systems and the B2 virial coefficient of chain DPD particles for a range of bond lengths. Additionally, a method is developed for determining the strength of cross-interaction parameters between chains of different compositions and sizes and for thermal and athermal mixtures. We explored how different levels of coarse-graining affect the upper-critical solution temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mona S Minkara
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Theory Center, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
| | - Robert H Hembree
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Theory Center, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
| | - Sumanth N Jamadagni
- Computational Chemistry, Modeling and Simulation, The Procter & Gamble Company, 8611 Beckett Road, West Chester, Ohio 45069, USA
| | - Ahmad F Ghobadi
- Computational Chemistry, Modeling and Simulation, The Procter & Gamble Company, 8611 Beckett Road, West Chester, Ohio 45069, USA
| | - David M Eike
- Computational Chemistry, Modeling and Simulation, The Procter & Gamble Company, 8611 Beckett Road, West Chester, Ohio 45069, USA
| | - J Ilja Siepmann
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Theory Center, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA
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21
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Aryal D, Ganesan V. Impact of cross-linking of polymers on transport of salt and water in polyelectrolyte membranes: A mesoscopic simulation study. J Chem Phys 2018; 149:224902. [DOI: 10.1063/1.5057708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Dipak Aryal
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
| | - Venkat Ganesan
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, USA
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22
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Mesoscale modeling of sulfonated polyimides copolymer membranes: Effect of sequence distributions. J Memb Sci 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2018.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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23
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Seaton MA. DL_MESO_DPD: development and use of mesoscale modelling software. MOLECULAR SIMULATION 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/08927022.2018.1524143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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24
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Santo KP, Vishnyakov A, Kumar R, Neimark AV. Elucidating the Effects of Metal Complexation on Morphological and Rheological Properties of Polymer Solutions by a Dissipative Particle Dynamics Model. Macromolecules 2018. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.8b00493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Kolattukudy P. Santo
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Aleksey Vishnyakov
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Ravish Kumar
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
| | - Alexander V. Neimark
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854, United States
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25
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Vishnyakov A, Mao R, Lee MT, Neimark AV. Coarse-grained model of nanoscale segregation, water diffusion, and proton transport in Nafion membranes. J Chem Phys 2018; 148:024108. [PMID: 29331134 DOI: 10.1063/1.4997401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We present a coarse-grained model of the acid form of Nafion membrane that explicitly includes proton transport. This model is based on a soft-core bead representation of the polymer implemented into the dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulation framework. The proton is introduced as a separate charged bead that forms dissociable Morse bonds with water beads. Morse bond formation and breakup artificially mimics the Grotthuss hopping mechanism of proton transport. The proposed DPD model is parameterized to account for the specifics of the conformations and flexibility of the Nafion backbone and sidechains; it treats electrostatic interactions in the smeared charge approximation. The simulation results qualitatively, and in many respects quantitatively, predict the specifics of nanoscale segregation in the hydrated Nafion membrane into hydrophobic and hydrophilic subphases, water diffusion, and proton mobility. As the hydration level increases, the hydrophilic subphase exhibits a percolation transition from a collection of isolated water clusters to a 3D network of pores filled with water embedded in the hydrophobic matrix. The segregated morphology is characterized in terms of the pore size distribution with the average size growing with hydration from ∼1 to ∼4 nm. Comparison of the predicted water diffusivity with the experimental data taken from different sources shows good agreement at high and moderate hydration and substantial deviation at low hydration, around and below the percolation threshold. This discrepancy is attributed to the dynamic percolation effects of formation and rupture of merging bridges between the water clusters, which become progressively important at low hydration, when the coarse-grained model is unable to mimic the fine structure of water network that includes singe molecule bridges. Selected simulations of water diffusion are performed for the alkali metal substituted membrane which demonstrate the effects of the counter-ions on membrane self-assembly and transport. The hydration dependence of the proton diffusivity reproduces semi-qualitatively the trend of the diverse experimental data, showing a sharp decrease around the percolation threshold. Overall, the proposed model opens up an opportunity to study self-assembly and water and proton transport in polyelectrolytes using computationally efficient DPD simulations, and, with further refinement, it may become a practical tool for theory informed design and optimization of perm-selective and ion-conducting membranes with improved properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksey Vishnyakov
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 98 Brett Road, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854-8058, USA
| | - Runfang Mao
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 98 Brett Road, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854-8058, USA
| | - Ming-Tsung Lee
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 98 Brett Road, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854-8058, USA
| | - Alexander V Neimark
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 98 Brett Road, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854-8058, USA
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26
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Okuwaki K, Mochizuki Y, Doi H, Kawada S, Ozawa T, Yasuoka K. Theoretical analyses on water cluster structures in polymer electrolyte membrane by using dissipative particle dynamics simulations with fragment molecular orbital based effective parameters. RSC Adv 2018; 8:34582-34595. [PMID: 35548624 PMCID: PMC9086946 DOI: 10.1039/c8ra07428c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2018] [Accepted: 10/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The mesoscopic structures of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) affect the performances of fuel cells. Nafion® with the Teflon® backbone has been the most widely used of all PEMs, but sulfonated poly-ether ether-ketone (SPEEK) having an aromatic backbone has drawn interest as an alternative to Nafion. In the present study, a series of dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations were performed to compare Nafion and SPEEK. These PEM polymers were modeled by connected particles corresponding to the hydrophobic backbone and the hydrophilic moiety of sulfonic acid group. The water particle interacting with Nafion particles was prepared as well. The crucial interaction parameters among DPD particles were evaluated by a series of calculations based on the fragment molecular orbital (FMO) method in a non-empirical way (Okuwaki et al., J. Phys. Chem. B, 2018, 122, 338–347). Through the DPD simulations, the water and hydrophilic particles aggregated, forming cluster networks surrounded by the hydrophobic phase. The structural features of formed water clusters were investigated in detail. Furthermore, the differences in percolation behaviors between Nafion and SPEEK revealed much better connectivity among water clusters by Nafion. The present FMO-DPD simulation results were in good agreement with available experimental data. The mesoscopic structures of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) affect the performances of fuel cells.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Koji Okuwaki
- Department of Chemistry and Research Center for Smart Molecules
- Faculty of Science
- Rikkyo University
- Toshima-ku
- Japan
| | - Yuji Mochizuki
- Department of Chemistry and Research Center for Smart Molecules
- Faculty of Science
- Rikkyo University
- Toshima-ku
- Japan
| | - Hideo Doi
- Department of Chemistry and Research Center for Smart Molecules
- Faculty of Science
- Rikkyo University
- Toshima-ku
- Japan
| | - Shutaro Kawada
- Department of Chemistry and Research Center for Smart Molecules
- Faculty of Science
- Rikkyo University
- Toshima-ku
- Japan
| | | | - Kenji Yasuoka
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Keio University
- Yokohama 223-8522
- Japan
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27
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Doping proton transport channels in poly-electrolyte membranes with high acidic site density polymers. Eur Polym J 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2017.09.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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28
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Aryal D, Agrawal A, Perahia D, Grest GS. Structure and Dynamics of Ionic Block Copolymer Melts: Computational Study. Macromolecules 2017. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.7b00724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dipak Aryal
- Department
of Chemistry and #Department of Physics, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, United States
| | - Anupriya Agrawal
- Department
of Chemistry and #Department of Physics, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, United States
- Department
of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Dvora Perahia
- Department
of Chemistry and #Department of Physics, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, United States
| | - Gary S. Grest
- Sandia National
Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185, United States
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29
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Lísal M, Šindelka K, Suchá L, Limpouchová Z, Procházka K. Dissipative particle dynamics simulations of polyelectrolyte self-assemblies. Methods with explicit electrostatics. POLYMER SCIENCE SERIES C 2017. [DOI: 10.1134/s1811238217010052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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30
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Dorenbos G. Improving proton conduction pathways in di- and triblock copolymer membranes: Branched versus linear side chains. J Chem Phys 2017; 146:244909. [PMID: 28668060 DOI: 10.1063/1.4989487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Phase separation within a series of polymer membranes in the presence of water is studied by dissipative particle dynamics. Each polymer contains hydrophobic A beads and hydrophilic C beads. Three parent architectures are constructed from a backbone composed of connected hydrophobic A beads to which short ([C]), long ([A3C]), or symmetrically branched A5[AC][AC] side chains spring off. Three di-block copolymer derivatives are constructed by covalently bonding an A30 block to each parent architecture. Also three tri-blocks with A15 blocks attached to both ends of each parent architecture are modeled. Monte Carlo tracer diffusion calculations through the water containing pores for 1226 morphologies reveal that water diffusion for parent architectures is slowest and diffusion through the di-blocks is fastest. Furthermore, diffusion increases with side chain length and is highest for branched side chains. This is explained by the increase of water pore size with 〈Nbond〉, which is the average number of bonds that A beads are separated from a nearest C bead. Optimization of 〈Nbond〉 within the amphiphilic parent architecture is expected to be essential in improving proton conduction in polymer electrolyte membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Dorenbos
- 410-1118, sano 1107-2, Belle Crea 502, Susono, Japan
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31
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Dorenbos G. Dependence of Solvent Diffusion on Hydrophobic Block Length within Amphiphilic-Hydrophobic Block Copolymer Membranes. J Phys Chem B 2016; 120:13102-13111. [PMID: 27976579 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b10913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Pore networks and water diffusion within model (amphiphilic-hydrophobic) diblock copolymer membranes in the presence of 16 vol % water is studied by dissipative particle dynamics in combination with Monte Carlo tracer diffusion calculations. The amphiphilic block (parent architecture (A[A3C])10) is composed of a backbone that contains 10 consecutively connected hydrophobic A beads; to each A bead, a side chain is grafted composed of three connected A beads and a pendant hydrophilic C bead. Hydrophobic blocks are constructed from x covalently bonded A beads, with x = 20, 30, or 50. Water diffusion through the pores is modeled by Monte Carlo tracer diffusion within more than 500 mapped morphologies. Long range water diffusion within the amphiphilic-hydrophobic ((A[A3C])10-Ax) diblock architectures increases with hydrophobic block length. Diffusion increases with Q = ⟨Nbond⟩|C||1 - C|-1, where C is the hydrophilic C bead fraction and ⟨Nbond⟩ the average number of bonds that A beads are separated from the nearest C bead. These trends are also anticipated for amphiphilic parent architectures (ACA3)10, (A2[C]A2)10, and (A2[AC]A)10. This is explained by the squeezing of water from the hydrophobic phase into the amphiphilic phase. Two characteristic distances are observed: The shorter distance corresponds to the interpore (or intercluster) separation within the "parent architecture-water" phase and obeys the earlier obtained linear relation between intercluster distance and ⟨Nbond⟩amphi of the amphiphilic parent architecture. The longer distance is governed by the phase separation between the amphiphilic-water phase and hydrophobic blocks.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Dorenbos
- T410-1118, 1107-2, sanno, Belle Crea 502, Susono, Japan
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32
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Lu J, Jacobson LC, Perez Sirkin YA, Molinero V. High-Resolution Coarse-Grained Model of Hydrated Anion-Exchange Membranes that Accounts for Hydrophobic and Ionic Interactions through Short-Ranged Potentials. J Chem Theory Comput 2016; 13:245-264. [PMID: 28068769 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.6b00874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jibao Lu
- Department
of Chemistry, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0850, United States
| | - Liam C. Jacobson
- Department
of Chemistry, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0850, United States
| | - Yamila A. Perez Sirkin
- Departamento
de Química Inorgánica, Analítica y Química
Física, and INQUIMAE, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires C1428EHA, Argentina
| | - Valeria Molinero
- Department
of Chemistry, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-0850, United States
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33
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Procházka K, Šindelka K, Wang X, Limpouchová Z, Lísal M. Self-assembly and co-assembly of block polyelectrolytes in aqueous solutions. Dissipative particle dynamics with explicit electrostatics. Mol Phys 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/00268976.2016.1225130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Karel Procházka
- Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Karel Šindelka
- Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Xiu Wang
- Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Zuzana Limpouchová
- Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Lísal
- Laboratory of Chemistry and Physics of Aerosols, Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, J. E. Purkinje University, Ústí n.L., Czech Republic
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Dorenbos G. Water Diffusion Dependence on Amphiphilic Block Design in (Amphiphilic-Hydrophobic) Diblock Copolymer Membranes. J Phys Chem B 2016; 120:5634-45. [PMID: 27266679 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.6b03171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Polyelectrolyte membranes (PEMs) are applied in polyelectrolyte fuel cells (PEFC). The proton conductive pathways within PEMs are provided by nanometer-sized water containing pores. Large-scale application of PEFC requires the production of low-cost membranes with high proton conductivity and therefore good connected pore networks. Pore network formation within four alternative model diblock (hydrophobic_amphiphilic) copolymers in the presence of water is studied by dissipative particle dynamics. Each hydrophobic block contains 50 consecutively connected hydrophobic (A) fragments, and amphiphilic blocks contain 40 hydrophobic A beads and 10 hydrophilic C beads. For one amphiphilic block the C beads are distributed uniformly along the backbone. For the other architectures C beads are located at the end of the side chains attached at regular intervals along the backbone. Water diffusion through the pores is modeled by Monte Carlo tracer diffusion through mapped morphologies. Diffusion is highest for the grafted architectures and increases with increase of length of the side chains. A consistent picture emerges in which diffusion strongly increases with the value of ⟨Nbond⟩ within the amphiphilic block, where ⟨Nbond⟩ is the average number of bonds between hydrophobic A beads and the nearest C bead.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gert Dorenbos
- T410-1118, sano 1107-2, Belle Crea 502, Susono, Japan
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