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Ye Z, Zhang H, Riggleman RA. Local dynamics and failure of inhomogeneous polymer networks. SOFT MATTER 2024; 20:4734-4743. [PMID: 38836817 DOI: 10.1039/d4sm00087k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
Inhomogeneous crosslinked polymers are powerful platforms for materials design, because they can be synthesized from materials that provide complimentary properties to the resulting gel. For example, a membrane with both glassy and rubbery domains will be mechanically robust while enabling transport. The dynamics, and mechanical and failure properties of rubbery/glassy conetworks are only beginning to be studied, and there is likely to be strong heterogeneities in the dynamics and mechanical response. In this study, we use coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations to generate microphase separated rubbery/glassy polymer networks with a bicontinuous morphology via in silico crosslinking. We study the effect of phase boundary on the local mobility gradient, and our simulation results reveal an asymmetric shift in the local mobility gradient across the interface that extends deeper into the phase with a lower Tg when the system temperature is between the glass transition temperatures of the two phases. Moreover, by employing a model that allows bond breaking, we examine the microscopic mechanism for failure in these networks as a function of the molecular weight of polymer strands between crosslinks and the number fraction of the glassy domain. Under uniaxial extension, we find that the stress is initially larger in the glassy domain. As the deformation proceeds, the segmental dynamics of the two phases homogenize, and subsequently bond breaking begins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziyu Ye
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Han Zhang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Robert A Riggleman
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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2
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Goswami M, Iyiola OO, Lu W, Hong K, Zolnierczuk P, Stingaciu LR, Heller WT, Taleb O, Sumpter BG, Hallinan DT. Understanding Interfacial Block Copolymer Structure and Dynamics. Macromolecules 2023. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Monojoy Goswami
- Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Oluwagbenga Oare Iyiola
- Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Department, Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering, Tallahassee, Florida 32310-6046, United States
- Aero-Propulsion, Mechatronics and Energy Center, Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering, Tallahassee, Florida 32310-6046, United States
| | - Wei Lu
- Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-2200, United States
| | - Kunlun Hong
- Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-2200, United States
- Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Piotr Zolnierczuk
- Juelich Center for Neutron Science, Outstation at the Spallation Neutron Source, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6473, United States
| | - Laura-Roxana Stingaciu
- Neutron Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - William T. Heller
- Neutron Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Omar Taleb
- Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Department, Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering, Tallahassee, Florida 32310-6046, United States
- Aero-Propulsion, Mechatronics and Energy Center, Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering, Tallahassee, Florida 32310-6046, United States
| | - Bobby G. Sumpter
- Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Daniel T. Hallinan
- Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Department, Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering, Tallahassee, Florida 32310-6046, United States
- Aero-Propulsion, Mechatronics and Energy Center, Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering, Tallahassee, Florida 32310-6046, United States
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3
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Ghanekarade A, Simmons DS. Combined Mixing and Dynamical Origins of Tg Alterations Near Polymer–Polymer Interfaces. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Asieh Ghanekarade
- Department of Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida33544, United States
| | - David S. Simmons
- Department of Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida33544, United States
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4
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Drayer WF, Simmons DS. Sequence Effects on the Glass Transition of a Model Copolymer System. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c00664] [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)
- William F. Drayer
- Department of Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620, United States
| | - David S. Simmons
- Department of Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620, United States
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5
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Ketkar PM, Epps TH. Nanostructured Block Polymer Electrolytes: Tailoring Self-Assembly to Unlock the Potential in Lithium-Ion Batteries. Acc Chem Res 2021; 54:4342-4353. [PMID: 34783520 DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.1c00468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
ConspectusIon-containing solid block polymer (BP) electrolytes can self-assemble into microphase-separated domains to facilitate the independent optimization of ion conduction and mechanical stability; this assembly behavior has the potential to improve the functionality and safety of lithium-ion batteries over liquid electrolytes to meet future demands (e.g., large capacities and long lifetimes) in various applications. However, significant enhancements in the ionic conductivity and processability of BPs must be realized for BP-based electrolytes to become robust alternatives in commercial devices. Toward this end, the controlled modification of BP electrolytes' intra-domain (nanometer-scale) and multi-grain (micrometer-scale) structure is one viable approach; intra-domain ion transport and segmental compatibility (related to the effective Flory-Huggins parameter, χeff) can be increased by tuning the ion and monomer-segment distributions, and the morphology can be selected such that the multi-grain transport is less sensitive to grain size and orientation.To highlight the characteristics of intra-domain structure that promote efficient ion transport, this Account begins by describing the relationship between BP thermodynamics (namely, χeff and the statistical segment length, b, which is indicative of chain stiffness) and local ion concentration. These thermodynamic insights are vital because they inform the selection of synthesis and formulation variables, such as polymer and ion chemistry, polymer molecular weight and composition, and ion concentration, which boost electrolyte performance. In addition to its relationship with local ion transport, χeff is also an important factor with respect to electrolyte processability. For example, a reduced χeff can allow BP electrolytes to be processed at lower temperatures (i.e., lower energy input), with less solvent (i.e., reduced waste), and/or for shorter times (i.e., higher throughput) yet still form desired nanostructures. This Account also examines the impact of electrolyte preparation and processing on the ion transport across nanostructured grains because of grain size and orientation. As morphologies with a 3D-connected versus 2D-connected conducting phase show different sensitivities to conductivity losses that can occur because of the fabrication methods, it is necessary to account for electrolyte processing effects when probing ion transport.The intra-domain and micrometer-scale structure also can be tuned using either tapered BPs (macromolecules with modified monomer-segment composition profiles between two homogeneous blocks) or blends of BPs and homopolymers, independent of the BP molecular weight and composition, as detailed herein. The application of TBPs or BP/HP blends as ion-conducting materials leads to improved ion transport, reduced χeff, and greater availability of morphologies with 3D connectivity relative to traditional (non-tapered and unblended) BP electrolytes. This feature results from the fact that ion transport is related more closely to the monomer-segment distributions within a domain than the overall nanoscale morphology or average polymer/ion mobilities. Taken together, this Account describes how ion transport and processability are influenced by BP architecture and nanostructural features, and it provides avenues to tune nanoassemblies that can contribute to improved lithium-ion battery technologies to meet future demands.
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Ketkar PM, Shen KH, Fan M, Hall LM, Epps TH. Quantifying the Effects of Monomer Segment Distributions on Ion Transport in Tapered Block Polymer Electrolytes. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c00941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Priyanka M. Ketkar
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
| | - Kuan-Hsuan Shen
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Mengdi Fan
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Lisa M. Hall
- William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Thomas H. Epps
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
- Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
- Center for Research in Soft matter & Polymers (CRiSP), University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States
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Roth CB. Polymers under nanoconfinement: where are we now in understanding local property changes? Chem Soc Rev 2021; 50:8050-8066. [PMID: 34086025 DOI: 10.1039/d1cs00054c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Polymers are increasingly being used in applications with nanostructured morphologies where almost all polymer molecules are within a few tens to hundreds of nanometers from some interface. From nearly three decades of study on polymers in simplified nanoconfined systems such as thin films, we have come to understand property changes in these systems as arising from interfacial effects where local dynamical perturbations are propagated deeper into the material. This review provides a summary of local glass transition temperature Tg changes near interfaces, comparing across different types of interfaces: free surface, substrate, liquid, and polymer-polymer. Local versus film-average properties in thin films are discussed, making connections to other related property changes, while highlighting several historically important studies. By experimental necessity, most studies are on high enough molecule weight chains to be well entangled, although aspects that connect to lower molecule weight materials are described. Emphasis is made to identify observations and open questions that have yet to be fully understood such as the evidence of long-ranged interfacial effects, finite domain size, interfacial breadth, and chain connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connie B Roth
- Department of Physics, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.
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Wang Z, Sun D, Wang X, Yang Y, Li Y, Zuo B, Huang J, Wang X. Enhanced Dynamics of PMMA Brushes Induced by the Chain Ends of a Flexible Polymer Chain. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c02481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ziyu Wang
- Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Dandan Sun
- Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Xin Wang
- Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Yuhui Yang
- Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Yun Li
- Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Biao Zuo
- Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Jianhua Huang
- Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
| | - Xinping Wang
- Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
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Cheong GK, Chawla A, Morse DC, Dorfman KD. Open-source code for self-consistent field theory calculations of block polymer phase behavior on graphics processing units. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. E, SOFT MATTER 2020; 43:15. [PMID: 32086593 DOI: 10.1140/epje/i2020-11938-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2019] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Self-consistent field theory (SCFT) is a powerful approach for computing the phase behavior of block polymers. We describe a fast version of the open-source Polymer Self-Consistent Field (PSCF) code that takes advantage of the massive parallelization provided by a graphical processing unit (GPU). Benchmarking double-precision calculations indicate up to 30× reduction in time to converge SCFT calculations of various diblock copolymer phases when compared to the Fortran CPU version of PSCF using the same algorithms, with the speed-up increasing with increasing unit cell size for the diblock polymer problems examined here. Where double-precision accuracy is not needed, single-precision calculations can provide speed-up of up to 60× in convergence time. These improvements in speed within an open-source format open up new vistas for SCFT-driven block polymer materials discovery by the community at large.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guo Kang Cheong
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, 421 Washington Avenue SE, 55455, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Anshul Chawla
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, 421 Washington Avenue SE, 55455, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - David C Morse
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, 421 Washington Avenue SE, 55455, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Kevin D Dorfman
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, 421 Washington Avenue SE, 55455, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
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Kang E, Graczykowski B, Jonas U, Christie D, Gray LAG, Cangialosi D, Priestley RD, Fytas G. Shell Architecture Strongly Influences the Glass Transition, Surface Mobility, and Elasticity of Polymer Core-Shell Nanoparticles. Macromolecules 2019; 52:5399-5406. [PMID: 31367064 PMCID: PMC6659035 DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.9b00766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2019] [Revised: 06/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Despite the growing application of nanostructured polymeric materials, there still remains a large gap in our understanding of polymer mechanics and thermal stability under confinement and near polymer-polymer interfaces. In particular, the knowledge of polymer nanoparticle thermal stability and mechanics is of great importance for their application in drug delivery, phononics, and photonics. Here, we quantified the effects of a polymer shell layer on the modulus and glass-transition temperature (T g) of polymer core-shell nanoparticles via Brillouin light spectroscopy and modulated differential scanning calorimetry, respectively. Nanoparticles consisting of a polystyrene (PS) core and shell layers of poly(n-butyl methacrylate) (PBMA) were characterized as model systems. We found that the high T g of the PS core was largely unaffected by the presence of an outer polymer shell, whereas the lower T g of the PBMA shell layer decreased with increasing PBMA thickness. The surface mobility was revealed at a temperature about 15 K lower than the T g of the PBMA shell layer. Overall, the modulus of the core-shell nanoparticles decreased with increasing PBMA shell layer thickness. These results suggest that the nanoparticle modulus and T g can be tuned independently through the control of nanoparticle composition and architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eunsoo Kang
- Max
Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Bartlomiej Graczykowski
- Max
Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
- Faculty
of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 85, 61614 Poznan, Poland
| | - Ulrich Jonas
- Department
of Chemistry and Biology, University of
Siegen, Adolf-Reichwein-Strasse 2, 57076 Siegen, Germany
| | - Dane Christie
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Princeton Institute for the Science
and Technology of Materials, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
| | - Laura A. G. Gray
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Princeton Institute for the Science
and Technology of Materials, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
| | - Daniele Cangialosi
- Centro
de
Física de Materiales (CSIC-UPV/EHU), Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 5, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain
- Donostia
International Physics Center, Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 4, 20018 San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Rodney D. Priestley
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Princeton Institute for the Science
and Technology of Materials, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
| | - George Fytas
- Max
Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
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