Effect of Chain Length Dispersity on the Mobility of Entangled Polymers

Molecular Design Strategies to Enhance the Electroresponse of Polyelectrolyte Brushes: Effects of Charge Fraction and Chain Length Dispersity

Polyelectrolyte brushes are functional surface coatings that react to external stimuli. The response of these brushes in electric fields is nearly immediate as the field acts directly on the charges in the polyion, while the response to bulk stimuli such as temperature, acidity, and ionic composition is intrinsically capped by transport limitations. However, the response of fully charged brushes is limited because large field strengths are required to achieve a response. This limits the application of these brushes to architectures such as small pores or nanojunctions because small biases can generate large field strengths over small distances. Here, we propose a design strategy that enhances the response and lowers the field strength required in these applications. Our coarse-grained simulations highlight two approaches to increase the electroresponse of polyelectrolyte brushes: dispersity in the chain length enhances the electroresponse and a reduction in the number of charged monomers does the same. With these approaches, we increase the relative brush height variation from only 28% to as much as 227% since in partially charged brushes, more chains need to respond to screen the imposed field and the longer chains in disperse brushes can reorganize over large distances. Additionally, we find that disperse brushes show a stratified response where short chains collapse first and long chains stretch first because this stratification minimizes the change in conformational energy. We envision that our insights will enable the application of electroresponsive polyelectrolyte brushes in larger architectures or in small architectures using smaller biases, which could enable a stimulus-responsive pore size modulation that could be used for filtration and molecular separations.

Dynamics of Polymer Chains in Disperse Melts: Insights from Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Synthetic polymers have a distribution of chain lengths which can be characterized by dispersity, Đ. Their macroscopic properties are influenced by chain mobility in the melt, and controlling Đ can significantly impact these properties. In this work, we present a detailed study of the static and dynamic behavior of fully flexible polymer chains that follow the Schulz-Zimm molecular weight distribution up to Đ = 2.0 using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. We analyze the behavior of test chains with molecular weights that are equal to, above, or below the molecular weight (Mw) of the melt. Static analysis shows that the conformation of these test chains remains unaffected by the heterogeneity of the surrounding chains. To study the dynamics, we computed the mean-squared displacement of test chains in melts of the same Mw and different dispersities. The mobility of test chains with N > Mw steadily increases with dispersity, due to the shorter chains contributing to early onset of disentanglement of the long chains. However, the dynamics of test chains of length N < Mw is nonmonotonic with respect to dispersity; this behavior arises from a trade-off between the increased mobility of shorter chains and the corresponding slowdown caused by the presence of longer chains. We examine the dynamic structure factor and find a weakening of tube confinement, with the effects becoming less pronounced with increasing dispersity and Mw. These findings provide insights into the rich dynamic heterogeneity of disperse polymer melts.

Tougher Bioadhesives through Dual Stimulation Strategies

Carbene-based bioadhesives have favourable attributes for tissue adhesion, including non-specific bonding to wet and dry tissues, but suffer from relatively weak fracture strength after photocuring. Light irradiation of carbene-precursor (diazirine) also creates inert side products that are absent under thermal activation. Herein, a dual activation method combines light irradiation at elevated temperatures for the evaluation of diazirine depletion and effects on cohesive properties. A customized photo/thermal-rheometer evaluates viscoelastic properties, correlated to the kinetics of carbene:diazoalkane ratios via 19F NMR). The latter exploits the sensitive -CF3 functional group to determine joule-based light/temperature kinetics on trifluoroaryl diazirine consumption. The combination of heat and photoactivation produced bioadhesives that are 3× tougher compared to control. Dual thermal/light irradiation may be a strategy to improve viscoelastic dissipation and toughness of photo-activated adhesive resins.

Resolving the dynamic properties of entangled linear polymers in non-equilibrium coarse grain simulation with a priori scaling factors

The molecular weight of polymers can influence the material properties, but the molecular weight at the experiment level sometimes can be a huge burden for property prediction with full-atomic simulations. The traditional bottom-up coarse grain (CG) simulation can reduce the computation cost. However, the dynamic properties predicted by the CG simulation can deviate from the full-atomic simulation result. Usually, in CG simulations, the diffusion is faster and the viscosity and modulus are much lower. The fast dynamics in CG are usually solved by a posteriori scaling on time, temperature, or potential modifications, which usually have poor transferability to other non-fitted physical properties because of a lack of fundamental physics. In this work, a priori scaling factors were calculated by the loss of degrees of freedom and implemented in the iterative Boltzmann inversion. According to the simulation results on 3 different CG levels at different temperatures and loading rates, such a priori scaling factors can help in reproducing some dynamic properties of polycaprolactone in CG simulation more accurately, such as heat capacity, Young's modulus, and viscosity, while maintaining the accuracy in the structural distribution prediction. The transferability of entropy-enthalpy compensation and a dissipative particle dynamics thermostat is also presented for comparison. The proposed method reveals the huge potential for developing customized CG thermostats and offers a simple way to rebuild multiphysics CG models for polymers with good transferability.

Dynamic wetting of various liquids: Theoretical models, experiments, simulations and applications

Dynamic wetting is a ubiquitous phenomenon and frequently observed in our daily life, as exemplified by the famous lotus effect. It is also an interfacial process of upmost importance involving many cutting-edge applications and has hence received significantly increasing academic and industrial attention for several decades. However, we are still far away to completely understand and predict wetting dynamics for a given system due to the complexity of this dynamic process. The physics of moving contact lines is mainly ascribed to the full coupling with the solid surface on which the liquids contact, the atmosphere surrounding the liquids, and the physico-chemical characteristics of the liquids involved (small-molecule liquids, metal liquids, polymer liquids, and simulated liquids). Therefore, to deepen the understanding and efficiently harness wetting dynamics, we propose to review the major advances in the available literature. After an introduction providing a concise and general background on dynamic wetting, the main theories are presented and critically compared. Next, the dynamic wetting of various liquids ranging from small-molecule liquids to simulated liquids are systematically summarized, in which the new physical concepts (such as surface segregation, contact line fluctuations, etc.) are particularly highlighted. Subsequently, the related emerging applications are briefly presented in this review. Finally, some tentative suggestions and challenges are proposed with the aim to guide future developments.

Coarse-graining strategy for modeling effective, highly diffusive fluids with reduced polydispersity: A dynamical study

We present a coarse-graining strategy for reducing the number of particle species in mixtures to achieve a simpler system with higher diffusion while preserving the total particle number and characteristic dynamic features. As a system of application, we chose the bidisperse Lennard-Jones-like mixture, discovered by Kob and Andersen [Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 1376 (1994)], possessing a slow dynamics due to the fluid's multi-component character with its apparently unconventional choice for the pair potential of the type-A-type-B arrangement. We further established in a so-formed coarse-grained and temperature-independent monodisperse system an equilibrium structure with a radial distribution function resembling its mixture counterpart. This one-component system further possesses similar dynamic features such as glass transition temperature and critical exponents while subjected to Newtonian mechanics. This strategy may finally lead to the manufacturing of new nanoparticle/colloidal fluids by experimentally modeling only the outcoming effective pair potential(s) and no other macroscopic quantity.

Precise modulation of molecular weight distribution for structural engineering

As one of the most critical molecular parameters, molecular weight distribution has a profound impact on the structure and properties of polymers. Quantitative and comprehensive understanding, however, has yet to be established, mainly due to the challenge in the precise control and regulation of molecular weight distribution. In this work, we demonstrated a robust and effective approach to artificially engineer the molecular weight distribution through precise recombination of discrete macromolecules. The width, symmetry, and other characteristics of the distribution can be independently manipulated to achieve absolute control, serving as a model platform for highlighting the importance of chain length heterogeneity in structural engineering. Different from their discrete counterparts, each individual component in dispersed samples experiences a varied degree of supercooling at a specific crystallization temperature. Non-uniform crystal nucleation and growth kinetics lead to distinct molecular arrangements. This work could bridge the gap between discrete and dispersed macromolecules, providing fundamental perspectives on the critical role of molecular weight distribution.

Inconsistency of Diffusion and Relaxation of Ring Polymers Adsorbed on Rough Surfaces

We explore the diffusion and relaxation dynamics of a single ring polymer strongly adsorbed on rough surfaces with different roughnesses by means of molecular dynamics simulations. Our simulations demonstrate that on rough surfaces the intrachain topological constraint deriving from the closed architecture induces the inconsistency of diffusion and relaxation of ring polymers. When the lateral chain size is larger than the obstacle distance (2R_g∥,r > d), the ring closure induces the polymers to anchor on a single obstacle and dramatically reduces their diffusivity, where R_g∥,r and d are the lateral components of the mean-square radius of gyration and the obstacle distance, respectively. However, the single obstacle anchoring has no effect on the relaxation of ring polymers, which implies a deviation between the diffusion and the relaxation. With the lateral chain size beyond twice of the obstacle distance (R_g∥,r > d), the ring polymers are totally confined in the array of obstacles and can only diffuse through hopping over the obstacles, resulting in an exponential reduction of their diffusion coefficient. However, the relaxation of ring polymers mainly depends on their rotating reptation and satisfies the reptation-like dynamics, which means that the diffusion and the relaxation are nearly irrelevant. This inconsistency between the diffusion and relaxation is a unique property of adsorbed ring polymers, which would be meaningful to understand the physical nature of polymers with ring closure and significant to develop the corresponding applications.

Engineering self-assembly of giant molecules in the condensed state based on molecular nanoparticles

In biological systems, it is well-known that the activities and functions of biomacromolecules are dictated not only by their primary chemistries, but also by their secondary, tertiary, and quaternary hierarchical structures. Achieving control of similar levels in synthetic macromolecules is yet to be demonstrated. Most of the critical molecular parameters associated with molecular and hierarchical structures, such as size, composition, topology, sequence, and stereochemistry, are heterogenous, which impedes the exploration and understanding of structure formation and manipulation. Alternatively, in the past few years we have developed a unique giant molecule system based on molecular nanoparticles, in which the above-mentioned molecular parameters, as well as interactions, are precisely defined and controlled. These molecules could self-assemble into a myriad of unconventional and unique structures in the bulk, thin films, and solution. Giant molecules thus offer a robust platform to manipulate the hierarchical structures via precise and modular assemblies of building blocks in an amplified size level compared with small molecules. It has been found that they are not only scientifically intriguing, but also technologically relevant.

Modeling of Entangled Polymer Diffusion in Melts and Nanocomposites: A Review

This review concerns modeling studies of the fundamental problem of entangled (reptational) homopolymer diffusion in melts and nanocomposite materials in comparison to experiments. In polymer melts, the developed united atom and multibead spring models predict an exponent of the molecular weight dependence to the polymer diffusion very similar to experiments and the tube reptation model. There are rather unexplored parameters that can influence polymer diffusion such as polymer semiflexibility or polydispersity, leading to a different exponent. Models with soft potentials or slip-springs can estimate accurately the tube model predictions in polymer melts enabling us to reach larger length scales and simulate well entangled polymers. However, in polymer nanocomposites, reptational polymer diffusion is more complicated due to nanoparticle fillers size, loading, geometry and polymer-nanoparticle interactions.