1
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Douglas JF, Horkay F. Influence of swelling on the elasticity of polymer networks cross-linked in the melt state: Test of the localization model of rubber elasticity. J Chem Phys 2024; 160:224903. [PMID: 38856072 PMCID: PMC11305141 DOI: 10.1063/5.0212901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024] Open
Abstract
The elasticity of polymer networks, formed by cross-linking high molecular mass polymers in the melt state and then swollen by a solvent, involves contributions from both the presence of cross-link network junctions and the interchain interactions associated with the combined effect of excluded volume interactions and topological constraints that become modified when the network is swollen. We test the capacity of the previously developed localization model of rubber elasticity, a mean field "tube model," to describe changes in elasticity observed in classical experimental studies of the mechanical properties of this type of network. In order to obtain a satisfactory comparison to the experiments, it was found to be necessary to account for the independently observed tendency of the network junctions to become localized in the network with appreciable swelling, as well as the interchain interactions emphasized in previous discussions of the localization model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack F. Douglas
- Material Measurement Laboratory, Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
| | - Ferenc Horkay
- Section on Quantitative Imaging and Tissue Sciences, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
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2
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Jiang C, Baggioli M, Douglas JF. Stringlet excitation model of the boson peak. J Chem Phys 2024; 160:214505. [PMID: 38832741 DOI: 10.1063/5.0210057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The boson peak (BP), a low-energy excess in the vibrational density of states over the Debye contribution, is often identified as a characteristic of amorphous solid materials. Despite decades of efforts, its microscopic origin still remains a mystery. Recently, it has been proposed, and corroborated with simulations, that the BP might stem from intrinsic localized modes involving one-dimensional (1D) string-like excitations ("stringlets"). We build on a theory originally proposed by Lund that describes the localized modes as 1D vibrating strings, but we specify the stringlet size distribution to be exponential, as observed in simulations. We provide an analytical prediction for the BP frequency ωBP in the temperature regime well below the observed glass transition temperature Tg. The prediction involves no free parameters and accords quantitatively with prior simulation observations in 2D and 3D model glasses based on inverse power law potentials. The comparison of the string model to observations is more uncertain when compared to simulations of an Al-Sm metallic glass material at temperatures well above Tg. Nonetheless, our stringlet model of the BP naturally reproduces the softening of the BP frequency upon heating and offers an analytical explanation for the experimentally observed scaling with the shear modulus in the glass state and changes in this scaling in simulations of glass-forming liquids. Finally, the theoretical analysis highlights the existence of a strong damping for the stringlet modes above Tg, which leads to a large low-frequency contribution to the 3D vibrational density of states, observed in both experiments and simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cunyuan Jiang
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240 Shanghai, China
- Wilczek Quantum Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240 Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Research Center for Quantum Sciences, 200240 Shanghai, China
| | - Matteo Baggioli
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240 Shanghai, China
- Wilczek Quantum Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240 Shanghai, China
- Shanghai Research Center for Quantum Sciences, 200240 Shanghai, China
| | - Jack F Douglas
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
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3
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Zhang J, Zhang H, Douglas JF. A closer examination of the nature of atomic motion in the interfacial region of crystals upon approaching melting. J Chem Phys 2024; 160:114506. [PMID: 38511662 DOI: 10.1063/5.0197386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2024] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Although crystalline materials are often conceptualized as involving a static lattice configuration of particles, it has recently become appreciated that string-like collective particle exchange motion is a ubiquitous and physically important phenomenon in both the melting and interfacial dynamics of crystals. This type of collective motion has been evidenced in melting since early simulations of hard disc melting by Alder et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 11(6), 241-243 (1963)], but a general understanding of its origin, along with its impact on melting and the dynamics of crystalline materials, has been rather slow to develop. We explore this phenomenon further by focusing on the interfacial dynamics of a model crystalline Cu material using molecular dynamics simulations where we emphasize the geometrical nature and spatial extent of the atomic trajectories over the timescale that they are caged, and we also quantify string-like collective motion on the timescale of the fast β-relaxation time, τf, i.e., "stringlets." Direct visualization of the atomic trajectories in their cages over the timescale over which the cage persists indicates that they become progressively more anisotropic upon approaching the melting temperature Tm. The stringlets, dominating the large amplitude atomic motion in the fast dynamics regime, are largely localized to the crystal interfacial region and correspond to "excess" modes in the density of states that give rise to a "boson peak." Moreover, interstitial point defects occur in direct association with the stringlets, demonstrating a link between classical defect models of melting and more recent studies of melting emphasizing the role of this kind of collective motion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiarui Zhang
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Hao Zhang
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Jack F Douglas
- Material Measurement Laboratory, Material Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
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4
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Dyre JC. Solid-that-Flows Picture of Glass-Forming Liquids. J Phys Chem Lett 2024; 15:1603-1617. [PMID: 38306474 PMCID: PMC10875679 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c03308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2023] [Revised: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
This perspective article reviews arguments that glass-forming liquids are different from those of standard liquid-state theory, which typically have a viscosity in the mPa·s range and relaxation times on the order of picoseconds. These numbers grow dramatically and become 1012 - 1015 times larger for liquids cooled toward the glass transition. This translates into a qualitative difference, and below the "solidity length" which is roughly one micron at the glass transition, a glass-forming liquid behaves much like a solid. Recent numerical evidence for the solidity of ultraviscous liquids is reviewed, and experimental consequences are discussed in relation to dynamic heterogeneity, frequency-dependent linear-response functions, and the temperature dependence of the average relaxation time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeppe C Dyre
- "Glass and Time", IMFUFA, Dept. of Sciences, Roskilde University, P.O. Box 260, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark
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5
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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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6
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Nie W, Douglas JF, Xia W. Competing Effects of Molecular Additives and Cross-Link Density on the Segmental Dynamics and Mechanical Properties of Cross-Linked Polymers. ACS ENGINEERING AU 2023; 3:512-526. [PMID: 38144677 PMCID: PMC10739619 DOI: 10.1021/acsengineeringau.3c00043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Revised: 09/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023]
Abstract
The introduction of molecular additives into thermosets often results in changes in their dynamics and mechanical properties that can have significant ramifications for diverse applications of this broad class of materials such as coatings, high-performance composites, etc. Currently, there is limited fundamental understanding of how such additives influence glass formation in these materials, a problem of broader significance in glass-forming materials. To address this fundamental problem, here, we employ a simplified coarse-grained (CG) model of a polymer network as a model of thermoset materials and then introduce a polymer additive having the same inherent rigidity and polymer-polymer interaction strength as the cross-linked polymer matrix. This energetically "neutral" or "self-plasticizing" additive model gives rise to non-trivial changes in the dynamics of glass formation and provides an important theoretical reference point for the technologically more important case of interacting additives. Based on this rather idealized model, we systematically explore the combined effect of varying the additive mass percentage (m) and cross-link density (c) on the segmental relaxation dynamics and mechanical properties of a model thermoset material with additives. We find that increasing the additive mass percentage m progressively decreases both the glass-transition temperature Tg and the fragility of glass formation, a trend opposite to increasing c so that these thermoset variables clearly have a competing effect on glass formation in these model materials. Moreover, basic mechanical properties (i.e., bulk, shear, and tensile moduli) likewise exhibit a competitive variation with the increase of m and c, which are strongly correlated with the Debye-Waller parameter ⟨u2⟩, a measure of material stiffness at a molecular scale. Our findings prove beneficial in the development of structure-property relationships for the cross-linked polymers, which could help guide the design of such network materials with tailored physical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjian Nie
- Department
of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108, United States
| | - Jack F. Douglas
- Materials
Science and Engineering Division, National
Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Wenjie Xia
- Department
of Aerospace Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, United States
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7
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Zhang H, Wang X, Zhang J, Yu HB, Douglas JF. Approach to hyperuniformity in a metallic glass-forming material exhibiting a fragile to strong glass transition. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. E, SOFT MATTER 2023; 46:50. [PMID: 37380868 DOI: 10.1140/epje/s10189-023-00308-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
We investigate a metallic glass-forming (GF) material (Al90Sm10) exhibiting a fragile-strong (FS) glass-formation by molecular dynamics simulation to better understand this highly distinctive pattern of glass-formation in which many of the usual phenomenological relations describing relaxation times and diffusion of ordinary GF liquids no longer apply, and where instead genuine thermodynamic features are observed in response functions and little thermodynamic signature is exhibited at the glass transition temperature, Tg. Given the many unexpected similarities between the thermodynamics and dynamics of this metallic GF material with water, we first focus on the anomalous static scattering in this liquid, following recent studies on water, silicon and other FS GF liquids. We quantify the "hyperuniformity index" H of our liquid, which provides a quantitative measure of molecular "jamming". To gain insight into the T-dependence and magnitude of H, we also estimate another more familiar measure of particle localization, the Debye-Waller parameter 〈u2〉 describing the mean-square particle displacement on a timescale on the order of the fast relaxation time, and we also calculate H and 〈u2〉 for heated crystalline Cu. This comparative analysis between H and 〈u2〉 for crystalline and metallic glass materials allows us to understand the critical value of H on the order of 10-3 as being analogous to the Lindemann criterion for both the melting of crystals and the "softening" of glasses. We further interpret the emergence of FS GF and liquid-liquid phase separation in this class of liquids to arise from a cooperative self-assembly process in the GF liquid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Zhang
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1H9, Canada.
| | - Xinyi Wang
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Jiarui Zhang
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Hai-Bin Yu
- Wuhan National High Magnetic Field Center, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei, China
| | - Jack F Douglas
- Material Measurement Laboratory, Material Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA.
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8
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Zheng X, Guo Y, Douglas JF, Xia W. Competing Effects of Cohesive Energy and Cross-Link Density on the Segmental Dynamics and Mechanical Properties of Cross-Linked Polymers. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01719] [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)
- Xiangrui Zheng
- Department of Mechanics, School of Physical Science and Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong Uiversity, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Yafang Guo
- Department of Mechanics, School of Physical Science and Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong Uiversity, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Jack F. Douglas
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Wenjie Xia
- Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 58108, United States
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9
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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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10
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Mahmud GA, Zhang H, Douglas JF. The Dynamics of Metal Nanoparticles on a Supporting Interacting Substrate. J Chem Phys 2022; 157:114505. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0105208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The interaction strength of the nanoparticles NPs with the supporting substrate can greatly influence both the rate and selectivity of catalytic reactions, but the origins of these changes in reactivity arising from the combined effects of NP structure and composition, and NP-substrate interaction are currently not well-understood. Since the dynamics of the NPs are implicated in many NP-based catalytic processes, we investigate how the supporting substrate alters the dynamics of representative Cu NPs on a model graphene substrate, and a formal extension of this model in which the interaction strength between the NPs and the substrate is varied. We particularly emphasize how the substrate interaction strength alters the local mobility and potential energy fluctuations in the NP interfacial region, given the potential relevance of such fluctuations to NP reactivity. We find the NP melting temperature Tm progressively shifts downward with an increasing NP-substrate interaction strength, and that this change in NP thermodynamic stability is mirrored by changes in local mobility and potential energy fluctuations in the interfacial region that can be described as "colored noise". Atomic diffusivity D in the "free" and substrate NP interfacial regions is quantified and observed variations are rationalized by the localization model linking D to the mean square atomic displacement on a "caging" timescale on the order of a ps. In summary, we find the supporting substrate strongly modulates the stability and dynamics of supported NPs, effects that have evident practical relevance for understanding changes in NP catalytic behavior derived from the supporting substrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gazi Arif Mahmud
- Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada
| | - Hao Zhang
- Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada
| | - Jack F. Douglas
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, United States of America
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11
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Bolmatov D. The Phonon Theory of Liquids and Biological Fluids: Developments and Applications. J Phys Chem Lett 2022; 13:7121-7129. [PMID: 35950307 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c01779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Among the three basic states of matter (solid, liquid, and gas), the liquid state has always eluded general theoretical approaches for describing liquid energy and heat capacity. In this Viewpoint, we derive the phonon theory of liquids and biological fluids stemming from Frenkel's microscopic picture of the liquid state. Specifically, the theory predicts the existence of phonon gaps in vibrational spectra of liquids and a thermodynamic boundary in the supercritical state. Direct experimental evidence reaffirming these theoretical predictions was achieved through a combination of techniques using static compression X-ray diffraction and inelastic X-ray scattering on deeply supercritical argon in a diamond anvil cell. Furthermore, these findings inspired and then led to the discovery of phonon gaps in liquid crystals (mesogens), block copolymers, and biological membranes. Importantly, phonon gaps define viscoelastic crossovers in cellular membranes responsible for lipid self-diffusion, lateral molecular-level stress propagation, and passive transmembrane transport of small molecules and solutes. Finally, molecular interactions mediated by external stimuli result in synaptic activity controlling biological membranes' plasticity resulting in learning and memory. Therefore, we also discuss learning and memory effects─equally important for neuroscience as well as for the development of neuromorphic devices─facilitated in biological membranes by external stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dima Bolmatov
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
- Shull Wollan Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
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12
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Zhu Y, Giuntoli A, Zhang W, Lin Z, Keten S, Starr FW, Douglas JF. The Effect of Nanoparticle Softness on the Interfacial Dynamics of a Model Polymer Nanocomposite. J Chem Phys 2022; 157:094901. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0101551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The introduction of soft organic nanoparticles (NPs) into polymer melts has recently expanded the material design space for polymer nanocomposites, compared to traditional nanocomposites that utilize rigid NPs, such as silica, metallic and other inorganic NPs. Despite advances in the fabrication and characterization of this new class of materials, the effect of NP stiffness on the polymer structure and dynamics has not been systematically investigated. Here, we use molecular dynamics to investigate the segmental dynamics of the polymer interfacial region of isolated NPs of variable stiffness in a polymer matrix. When the polymer-NP interactions are stronger than the polymer-polymer interactions, we find that the slowing of segmental dynamics in the interfacial region is more pronounced for stiff NPs. In contrast, when the polymer-NP interaction strength is smaller than the matrix interaction, the NP stiffness has relatively little impact on the changes in the polymer interfacial dynamics. We also find that the segmental relaxation time t a of segments in the NP interfacial region changes from values lower than to higher than the bulk material when the polymer-NP interaction strength is increased beyond a 'critical' strength, reminiscent of a binding-unbinding transition. Both the NP stiffness and the polymer-surface interaction strength can thus greatly influence the relative segmental of the interfacial mobility in comparison to the bulk material.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuwen Zhu
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University State Key Laboratory of Mechanical System and Vibration, China
| | - Andrea Giuntoli
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, Netherlands
| | - Wengang Zhang
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, NIST, United States of America
| | | | - Sinan Keten
- Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, United States of America
| | - Francis W. Starr
- Physics Department, Wesleyan University, United States of America
| | - Jack F. Douglas
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, United States of America
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13
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Xia J, Guo H. Construction of a quantitative relation between structural relaxation and dynamic heterogeneity by vibrational dynamics in glass-forming liquids and polymers. SOFT MATTER 2021; 17:10753-10764. [PMID: 34792079 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm01049b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The structural relaxation slows down drastically upon approaching the glass transition, accompanied by the significant growth of dynamic heterogeneity. The fundamental question of elusiveness and interest is whether there exists an underlying quantitative relationship between structural relaxation and dynamic heterogeneity. Here, we reveal that b̃ which is related to the reduced mean square displacements to overcome the energy barriers of activated jumps, instead of the kinetic fragility m, is the genuine key parameter connecting dynamic heterogeneity with structural relaxation for varying types of glass formers. Furthermore, based on the dependence of dynamic heterogeneity on the Debye-Waller factor we obtained a direct quantitative relation between dynamic heterogeneity and structural relaxation is built for different glass-forming liquids. More importantly, a scaling collapse of structural relaxation and dynamic heterogeneity is achieved by the important parameter b̃. These results are of fundamental and critical importance for developing a unified theory of glassy dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianshe Xia
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Hongxia Guo
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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14
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Wang X, Zhang H, Douglas JF. The initiation of shear band formation in deformed metallic glasses from soft localized domains. J Chem Phys 2021; 155:204504. [PMID: 34852471 DOI: 10.1063/5.0069729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
It has long been thought that shear band (SB) formation in amorphous solids initiates from relatively "soft" regions in the material in which large-scale non-affine deformations become localized. The test of this hypothesis requires an effective means of identifying "soft" regions and their evolution as the material is deformed to varying degrees, where the metric of "softness" must also account for the effect of temperature on local material stiffness. We show that the mean square atomic displacement on a caging timescale ⟨u2⟩, the "Debye-Waller factor," provides a useful method for estimating the shear modulus of the entire material and, by extension, the material stiffness at an atomic scale. Based on this "softness" metrology, we observe that SB formation indeed occurs through the strain-induced formation of localized soft regions in our deformed metallic glass free-standing films. Unexpectedly, the critical strain condition for SB formation occurs when the softness (⟨u2⟩) distribution within the emerging soft regions approaches that of the interfacial region in its undeformed state, initiating an instability with similarities to the transition to turbulence. Correspondingly, no SBs arise when the material is so thin that the entire material can be approximately described as being "interfacial" in nature. We also quantify relaxation in the glass and the nature and origin of highly non-Gaussian particle displacements in the dynamically heterogeneous SB regions at times longer than the caging time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyi Wang
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Hao Zhang
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Jack F Douglas
- Material Measurement Laboratory, Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
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15
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Zhang W, Starr FW, Douglas JF. Activation free energy gradient controls interfacial mobility gradient in thin polymer films. J Chem Phys 2021; 155:174901. [PMID: 34742183 DOI: 10.1063/5.0064866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
We examine the mobility gradient in the interfacial region of substrate-supported polymer films using molecular dynamics simulations and interpret these gradients within the string model of glass-formation. No large gradients in the extent of collective motion exist in these simulated films, and an analysis of the mobility gradient on a layer-by-layer basis indicates that the string model provides a quantitative description of the relaxation time gradient. Consequently, the string model indicates that the interfacial mobility gradient derives mainly from a gradient in the high-temperature activation enthalpy ΔH0 and entropy ΔS0 as a function of depth z, an effect that exists even in the high-temperature Arrhenius relaxation regime far above the glass transition temperature. To gain insight into the interfacial mobility gradient, we examined various material properties suggested previously to influence ΔH0 in condensed materials, including density, potential and cohesive energy density, and a local measure of stiffness or u2(z)-3/2, where u2(z) is the average mean squared particle displacement at a caging time (on the order of a ps). We find that changes in local stiffness best correlate with changes in ΔH0(z) and that ΔS0(z) also contributes significantly to the interfacial mobility gradient, so it must not be neglected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wengang Zhang
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
| | - Francis W Starr
- Department of Physics, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, USA
| | - Jack F Douglas
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
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16
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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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17
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Sasaki T, Tsuzuki Y, Nakane T. A Dynamically Correlated Network Model for the Collective Dynamics in Glass-Forming Molecular Liquids and Polymers. Polymers (Basel) 2021; 13:3424. [PMID: 34641239 PMCID: PMC8512962 DOI: 10.3390/polym13193424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2021] [Revised: 10/02/2021] [Accepted: 10/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The non-Arrhenius behavior of segmental dynamics in glass-forming liquids is one of the most profound mysteries in soft matter physics. In this article, we propose a dynamically correlated network (DCN) model to understand the growing behavior of dynamically correlated regions during cooling, which leads to the viscous slowdown of supercooled liquids. The fundamental concept of the model is that the cooperative region of collective motions has a network structure that consists of string-like parts, and networks of various sizes interpenetrate each other. Each segment undergoes dynamical coupling with its neighboring segments via a finite binding energy. Monte Carlo simulations showed that the fractal dimension of the DCNs generated at different temperatures increased and their size distribution became broader with decreasing temperature. The segmental relaxation time was evaluated based on a power law with four different exponents for the activation energy of rearrangement with respect to the DCN size. The results of the present DCN model are consistent with the experimental results for various materials of molecular and polymeric liquids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takashi Sasaki
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Fukui, Fukui 9108507, Japan; (Y.T.); (T.N.)
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18
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The Relationship between Free Volume and Cooperative Rearrangement: From the Temperature-Dependent Neutron Total Scattering Experiment of Polystyrene. Polymers (Basel) 2021; 13:polym13183042. [PMID: 34577943 PMCID: PMC8470135 DOI: 10.3390/polym13183042] [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: 08/16/2021] [Revised: 09/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Although many theories have been proposed to describe the nature of glass formation, its microscopic picture is still missing. Here, by a combination of neutron scattering and molecular dynamics simulation, we present the temperature-dependent atomic structure variation of polystyrene at the glass formation, free volume and cooperative rearrangement. When it is close to glass formation, the polymer is confined in tubes, whose diameter is the main chain–main chain distance, in a “static cage” from its neighbors. This definition can not only account for the kinetic pathway dependence of Williams-Landel-Ferry (WLF) free volume, but also be testified in a set of six polymers. However, the free volume which allows a monomer to move cannot be found in any frame of its real-space image. Monomers, thus, have to move cooperatively to be out of the cage. During glass formation, dynamic heterogeneity develops, and string-like cooperative rearrangement region (CRR) grows over a long range of time and length scales. All of these CRRs tend to walk through loose “static cages”. Our observation unifies the concepts of free volume and cooperative rearrangement. The former is a statistical average leading to a polydisperse “static cage” formation; while a loose “static cage” provides the way that CRRs move.
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19
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Zhang H, Wang X, Yu HB, Douglas JF. Dynamic heterogeneity, cooperative motion, and Johari-Goldstein [Formula: see text]-relaxation in a metallic glass-forming material exhibiting a fragile-to-strong transition. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. E, SOFT MATTER 2021; 44:56. [PMID: 33871722 DOI: 10.1140/epje/s10189-021-00060-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the Johari-Goldstein (JG) [Formula: see text]-relaxation process in a model metallic glass-forming (GF) material ([Formula: see text]), previously studied extensively by both frequency-dependent mechanical measurements and simulation studies devoted to equilibrium properties, by molecular dynamics simulations based on validated and optimized interatomic potentials with the primary aim of better understanding the nature of this universal relaxation process from a dynamic heterogeneity (DH) perspective. The present relatively low temperature and long-time simulations reveal a direct correspondence between the JG [Formula: see text]-relaxation time [Formula: see text] and the lifetime of the mobile particle clusters [Formula: see text], defined as in previous DH studies, a relationship dual to the corresponding previously observed relationship between the [Formula: see text]-relaxation time [Formula: see text] and the lifetime of immobile particle clusters [Formula: see text]. Moreover, we find that the average diffusion coefficient D nearly coincides with [Formula: see text] of the smaller atomic species (Al) and that the 'hopping time' associated with D coincides with [Formula: see text] to within numerical uncertainty, both trends being in accord with experimental studies. This indicates that the JG [Formula: see text]-relaxation is dominated by the smaller atomic species and the observation of a direct relation between this relaxation process and rate of molecular diffusion in GF materials at low temperatures where the JG [Formula: see text]-relaxation becomes the prevalent mode of structural relaxation. As an unanticipated aspect of our study, we find that [Formula: see text] exhibits fragile-to-strong (FS) glass formation, as found in many other metallic GF liquids, but this fact does not greatly alter the geometrical nature of DH in this material and the relation of DH to dynamical properties. On the other hand, the temperature dependence of the DH and dynamical properties, such as the structural relaxation time, can be significantly altered from 'ordinary' GF liquids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Zhang
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada.
| | - Xinyi Wang
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Hai-Bin Yu
- Wuhan National High Magnetic Field Center, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, Hubei, China
| | - Jack F Douglas
- Material Measurement Laboratory, Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST), Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA.
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20
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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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21
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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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22
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Zhang H, Wang X, Yu HB, Douglas JF. Fast dynamics in a model metallic glass-forming material. J Chem Phys 2021; 154:084505. [DOI: 10.1063/5.0039162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Hao Zhang
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Xinyi Wang
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Hai-Bin Yu
- Wuhan National High Magnetic Field Center, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China
| | - Jack F. Douglas
- Material Measurement Laboratory, Material Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
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23
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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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24
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Soles CL, Burns AB, Ito K, Chan EP, Douglas JF, Wu J, Yee AF, Shih YT, Huang L, Dimeo RM, Tyagi M. Why Enhanced Subnanosecond Relaxations Are Important for Toughness in Polymer Glasses. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c02574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher L. Soles
- NIST Materials Science and Engineering Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Adam B. Burns
- NIST Materials Science and Engineering Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Kanae Ito
- NIST Materials Science and Engineering Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Edwin P. Chan
- NIST Materials Science and Engineering Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Jack F. Douglas
- NIST Materials Science and Engineering Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Jinhuang Wu
- Macromolecular Science and Engineering Program, University of Michigan, 2800 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Albert F. Yee
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Yueh-Ting Shih
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | - Liping Huang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | - Robert M. Dimeo
- NIST Center for Neutron Research, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Madhusudan Tyagi
- NIST Center for Neutron Research, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
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25
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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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26
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Mahmud G, Zhang H, Douglas JF. Localization model description of the interfacial dynamics of crystalline Cu and Cu 64Zr 36 metallic glass films. J Chem Phys 2020; 153:124508. [PMID: 33003746 DOI: 10.1063/5.0022937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies of structural relaxation in Cu-Zr metallic glass materials having a range of compositions and over a wide range of temperatures and in crystalline UO2 under superionic conditions have indicated that the localization model (LM) can predict the structural relaxation time τα of these materials from the intermediate scattering function without any free parameters from the particle mean square displacement ⟨r2⟩ at a caging time on the order of ps, i.e., the "Debye-Waller factor" (DWF). In the present work, we test whether this remarkable relation between the "fast" picosecond dynamics and the rate of structural relaxation τα in these model amorphous and crystalline materials can be extended to the prediction of the local interfacial dynamics of model amorphous and crystalline films. Specifically, we simulate the free-standing amorphous Cu64Zr36 and crystalline Cu films and find that the LM provides an excellent parameter-free prediction for τα of the interfacial region. We also show that the Tammann temperature, defining the initial formation of a mobile interfacial layer, can be estimated precisely for both crystalline and glass-forming solid materials from the condition that the DWFs of the interfacial region and the material interior coincide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gazi Mahmud
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Hao Zhang
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Jack F Douglas
- Material Measurement Laboratory, Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
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27
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Soles CL, Burns AB, Ito K, Chan E, Liu J, Yee AF, Tyagi MS. Importance of Sub-Nanosecond Fluctuations on the Toughness of Polycarbonate Glasses. Macromolecules 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c00857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher L. Soles
- NIST Materials Science and Engineering Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg 20899, Maryland, United States
| | - Adam B. Burns
- NIST Materials Science and Engineering Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg 20899, Maryland, United States
| | - Kanae Ito
- NIST Materials Science and Engineering Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg 20899, Maryland, United States
| | - Edwin Chan
- NIST Materials Science and Engineering Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg 20899, Maryland, United States
| | - Jianwei Liu
- Macromolecular Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109, Michigan, United States
| | - Albert F. Yee
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of California, Irvine 92697, California, United States
| | - Madhu Sudan Tyagi
- NIST Center for Neutron Research, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg 20899, Maryland, United States
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28
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Bender JS, Zhi M, Cicerone MT. The polarizability response of a glass-forming liquid reveals intrabasin motion and interbasin transitions on a potential energy landscape. SOFT MATTER 2020; 16:5588-5598. [PMID: 32057068 DOI: 10.1039/c9sm02326g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Potential energy landscape (PEL) concepts have been useful in conceptualizing the effects of intermolecular interactions on dynamic and thermodynamic properties of liquids and glasses. "Basins", or regions of reduced potential energy associated with locally preferred molecular packing are important PEL features. The molecular configurations at the bottom of these basins are referred to as inherent structures (ISs). Experimental methods for directly characterizing PEL features such as these are rare, largely relegating PEL concepts to theory and simulation studies, and impeding their exploration in real systems. Recently, we showed that quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) data from propylene carbonate (PC) exhibit signatures of picosecond timescale motion that are consistent with intrabasin motion and interbasin transitions [Cicerone et al., J. Chem. Phys., 2017, 146, 054502]. Here we present optically-heterodyne-detected optical Kerr effect (OHD-OKE) spectroscopy studies on PC. The data exhibit signatures of motion within and transitions between basins that agree quantitatively with and extend the QENS results. We show that the librational component of the OKE response corresponds to intrabasin dynamics, and the enigmatic intermediate OKE response corresponds to interbasin transition events. The OKE data extend the measurement range of these parameters and reveal their utility in characterizing PEL features of real systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- John S Bender
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA
| | - Miaochan Zhi
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA
| | - Marcus T Cicerone
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
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29
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Jiao G, Zuo T, Ma C, Han Z, Zhang J, Chen Y, Zhao J, Cheng H, Han CC. 3d Most-Probable All-Atom Structure of Atactic Polystyrene During Glass Formation: A Neutron Total Scattering Study. Macromolecules 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c00788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Guisheng Jiao
- China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), Chinese Academy of Science(CAS), Dongguan 523803, China
- Spallation Neutron Source Science Center, Dongguan 523803, China
| | - Taisen Zuo
- China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), Chinese Academy of Science(CAS), Dongguan 523803, China
- Spallation Neutron Source Science Center, Dongguan 523803, China
| | - Changli Ma
- China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), Chinese Academy of Science(CAS), Dongguan 523803, China
- Spallation Neutron Source Science Center, Dongguan 523803, China
| | - Zehua Han
- China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), Chinese Academy of Science(CAS), Dongguan 523803, China
- Spallation Neutron Source Science Center, Dongguan 523803, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Junrong Zhang
- China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), Chinese Academy of Science(CAS), Dongguan 523803, China
- Spallation Neutron Source Science Center, Dongguan 523803, China
| | - Ye Chen
- Faculty of Material Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510640, China
| | - Junpeng Zhao
- Faculty of Material Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510640, China
| | - He Cheng
- China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS), Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), Chinese Academy of Science(CAS), Dongguan 523803, China
- Spallation Neutron Source Science Center, Dongguan 523803, China
| | - Charles C. Han
- Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 508060, China
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30
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Xu WS, Douglas JF, Xu X. Molecular Dynamics Study of Glass Formation in Polymer Melts with Varying Chain Stiffness. Macromolecules 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c00731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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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31
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Das T, Bandi MM. Steady state dynamic dependence between local mobility and non-affine fluctuations in two-dimensional aggregates. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2020; 32:214004. [PMID: 31968328 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/ab6e94] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Motivated by qualitative experimental observations in collective behavior of self-propelled camphor particles at air-water interfaces, we study a generic aggregate forming system in two dimensions using canonical ensemble constant temperature molecular dynamics simulation. The aggregates form due to the competition between short-range attraction and long-range repulsion of pair-wise interactions as a generic proxy for the specific case of short-range capillary attraction competing with long-range Marangoni-assisted repulsion in camphor boat systems. Choosing the appropriate set of interaction parameters, we focus on characterising the local dynamics in two specific limiting morphologies, viz. compact and string-like aggregates. We focus on the temporal evolution of the mobility of an individual particle and the dynamic change in its nearest neighbourhood, measured in terms of the Debye-Waller factor ([Formula: see text]) and the non-affine parameter ([Formula: see text]), respectively (both defined in the text), and their interrelation over several lengths of observation time [Formula: see text]. The distribution for both measures are found to follow the relation: [Formula: see text] for the measured quantity x. The exponent [Formula: see text] is equal to two and one respectively, for the compact and string-like morphologies following the respective ideal fractal dimension of these aggregates. A functional dependence between these two observables is determined from a detailed statistical analysis of their joint and conditional distributions. The results obtained can readily be used and verified by experiments on aggregate forming systems more generic than the specific camphor boat system that motivated us, such as globular proteins, nanoparticle self-assembly etc. Further, the insights gained from this study might be useful to understand the evolution of collective dynamics in diverse glass-forming systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamoghna Das
- Center for Soft and Living Matter, Institute for Basic Sciences, Ulju-gun, Ulsan 44911, Republic of Korea
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32
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Giuntoli A, Puosi F, Leporini D, Starr FW, Douglas JF. Predictive relation for the α-relaxation time of a coarse-grained polymer melt under steady shear. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaaz0777. [PMID: 32494635 PMCID: PMC7182423 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz0777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
We examine the influence of steady shear on structural relaxation in a simulated coarse-grained unentangled polymer melt over a wide range of temperature and shear rates. Shear is found to progressively suppress the α-relaxation process observed in the intermediate scattering function, leading ultimately to a purely inertially dominated β-relaxation at high shear rates, a trend similar to increasing temperature. On the basis of a scaling argument emphasizing dynamic heterogeneity in cooled liquids and its alteration under material deformation, we deduce and validate a parameter-free scaling relation for both the structural relaxation time τα from the intermediate scattering function and the "stretching exponent" β quantifying the extent of dynamic heterogeneity over the entire range of temperatures and shear rates that we can simulate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Giuntoli
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersbug, Maryland 20899, USA
- Department of Physics, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, USA
| | - Francesco Puosi
- Dipartimento di Fisica “Enrico Fermi,” Università di Pisa, Largo B.Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Dino Leporini
- Dipartimento di Fisica “Enrico Fermi,” Università di Pisa, Largo B.Pontecorvo 3, I-56127 Pisa, Italy
- IPCF-CNR, UOS Pisa, Italy
| | - Francis W. Starr
- Department of Physics, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, USA
| | - Jack F. Douglas
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersbug, Maryland 20899, USA
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33
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Fan J, Emamy H, Chremos A, Douglas JF, Starr FW. Dynamic heterogeneity and collective motion in star polymer melts. J Chem Phys 2020; 152:054904. [DOI: 10.1063/1.5135731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jinpeng Fan
- Department of Physics, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut 06459-0155, USA
| | - Hamed Emamy
- Department of Physics, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut 06459-0155, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA
| | - Alexandros Chremos
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
| | - Jack F. Douglas
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, USA
| | - Francis W. Starr
- Department of Physics, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut 06459-0155, USA
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34
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Hung JH, Simmons DS. Do String-like Cooperative Motions Predict Relaxation Times in Glass-Forming Liquids? J Phys Chem B 2020; 124:266-276. [PMID: 31886663 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b09468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The Adam-Gibbs theory of glass formation posits that the growth in the activation barrier of fragile liquids on cooling emerges from a loss of configurational entropy and concomitant growth in "cooperatively rearranging regions" (CRRs). A body of literature over 2 decades has suggested that "string-like" cooperatively rearranging clusters observed in molecular simulations may be these CRRs-a scenario that would have profound implications for the understanding of the glass transition. The central element of this postulate is the report of an apparent zero-parameter relationship between the mass of string-like CRRs and the relaxation time. Here, we show, based on molecular dynamics simulations of multiple glass-forming liquids, that this finding is the result of an implicit adjustable parameter-a "replacement distance". This parameter is equivalent to an adjustable exponent within a generalized Adam-Gibbs relation, such that it tunes the entire functional form of the relation. Moreover, we are unable to find any objective criterion, based on the radial distribution function or the cluster fractal dimension, for selecting this replacement distance across multiple systems. We conclude that the present data do not establish that string-like cooperative rearrangements, as presently defined, are predictive of segmental relaxation via an Adam-Gibbs-like physical model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jui-Hsiang Hung
- Department of Polymer Engineering , The University of Akron , Akron , Ohio 44325 , United States
| | - David S Simmons
- Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering , University of South Florida , Tampa , Florida 33620 , United States
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Zhang W, Starr FW, Douglas JF. Collective Motion in the Interfacial and Interior Regions of Supported Polymer Films and Its Relation to Relaxation. J Phys Chem B 2019; 123:5935-5941. [PMID: 31192601 PMCID: PMC7430234 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.9b04155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
To understand the role of collective motion in the often large changes in interfacial molecular mobility observed in polymer films, we investigate the extent of collective motion in the interfacial regions of a thin supported polymer film and within the film interior by molecular dynamics simulation. Contrary to commonly stated expectations, we find that the extent of collective motion, as quantified by string-like molecular exchange motion, is similar in magnitude in the polymer-air interfacial layer as the film interior and distinct from the bulk material. This finding is consistent with Adam-Gibbs description of the segmental dynamics within mesoscopic film regions, where the extent of collective motion is related to the configurational entropy of the film as a whole rather than a locally defined extent of collective motion or configurational entropy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wengang Zhang
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
- Department of Physics, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut 06459-0155, United States
| | - Francis W. Starr
- Department of Physics, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut 06459-0155, United States
| | - Jack F. Douglas
- Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
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Li SJ, Qian HJ, Lu ZY. A simulation study on the glass transition behavior and relevant segmental dynamics in free-standing polymer nanocomposite films. SOFT MATTER 2019; 15:4476-4485. [PMID: 31111851 DOI: 10.1039/c9sm00267g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
In polymer/nanoparticle composite (PNC) thin films, polymer chains experience strong confinement effects not only at the free surface area but also from nanoparticles (NPs). In this work, the influence of NP-polymer interaction and NP distribution on the polymer segmental dynamics and the glass transition behavior of PNC free-standing films are investigated through molecular dynamics simulations. We demonstrate that NPs will migrate to the film surface area and form an NP-concentrated layer when NP-polymer interactions are weak, while NPs are well dispersed in the bulk region when NP-polymer interactions are strong. In both cases, we find increases in the glass transition temperature Tg compared with the pure film without NPs, although with a different degree. The weakly interacting system has the same Tg as the pure bulk system without NPs. The NP layer formed at the surface area reduces both the mobility of the surface polymer beads and the mobility gradient in the film normal direction (MGFND), therefore resulting in an increase in the Tg which highlights the vital role of the mobile surface layer. In contrast, the NPs in the bulk region enlarge the MGFND. NPs have opposite influences on the polymer bead dynamic anisotropy when they interact weakly or strongly with polymers, weakened for the former and enhanced for the latter. These findings offer a clear picture of the segmental dynamics and glass transition behavior in free-standing PNC films with different NP-polymer interaction strengths. We hope these results will be helpful for the property design of related materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Jia Li
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, International Joint Research Laboratory of Nano-Micro Architecture Chemistry, Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China.
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Hung JH, Patra TK, Meenakshisundaram V, Mangalara JH, Simmons DS. Universal localization transition accompanying glass formation: insights from efficient molecular dynamics simulations of diverse supercooled liquids. SOFT MATTER 2019; 15:1223-1242. [PMID: 30556082 DOI: 10.1039/c8sm02051e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The origin of the precipitous dynamic arrest known as the glass transition is a grand open question of soft condensed matter physics. It has long been suspected that this transition is driven by an onset of particle localization and associated emergence of a glassy modulus. However, progress towards an accepted understanding of glass formation has been impeded by an inability to obtain data sufficient in chemical diversity, relaxation timescales, and spatial and temporal resolution to validate or falsify proposed theories for its physics. Here we first describe a strategy enabling facile high-throughput simulation of glass-forming liquids to nearly unprecedented relaxation times. We then perform simulations of 51 glass-forming liquids, spanning polymers, small organic molecules, inorganics, and metallic glass-formers, with longest relaxation times exceeding one microsecond. Results identify a universal particle-localization transition accompanying glass formation across all classes of glass-forming liquid. The onset temperature of non-Arrhenius dynamics is found to serve as a normalizing condition leading to a master collapse of localization data. This transition exhibits a non-universal relationship with dynamic arrest, suggesting that the nonuniversality of supercooled liquid dynamics enters via the dependence of relaxation times on local cage scale. These results suggest that a universal particle-localization transition may underpin the glass transition, and they emphasize the potential for recent theoretical developments connecting relaxation to localization and emergent elasticity to finally explain the origin of this phenomenon. More broadly, the capacity for high-throughput prediction of glass formation behavior may open the door to computational inverse design of glass-forming materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jui-Hsiang Hung
- Department of Polymer of Engineering, University of Akron, 250 South Forge St., Akron, OH 44325, USA
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Pan D, Sun ZY. Influence of chain stiffness on the dynamical heterogeneity and fragility of polymer melts. J Chem Phys 2018; 149:234904. [DOI: 10.1063/1.5052153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Deng Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China
| | - Zhao-Yan Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China and University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China
- Xinjiang Laboratory of Phase Transitions and Microstructures in Condensed Matters, College of Physical Science and Technology, Yili Normal University, Yining 835000, China
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