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Yin JF, Liu-Fu W, Yang J, Lai Y, Xue B, Xiao H, Guo QY, Liu Y, Yin P. Exploration of Molecular Nanoparticles as Soft Structural Materials and Their Structure-Property Relationship. J Phys Chem Lett 2024; 15:4268-4275. [PMID: 38607695 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c00833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
The search for alternative chemical systems other than polymers with chain topologies for soft structural materials raises general interests in fundamental materials and chemical sciences. It is also appealing from an engineering perspective for the urgent need to resolve the typical trade-offs of polymer systems. Herein, a subnanometer molecular cluster, polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes, is assembled into molecular nanoparticles (MNPs) with star topology. Broadly tunable viscoelasticity can be realized by fine-tuning the MNPs' deformability. Being analogous to polymeric systems, the hierarchical structural relaxation dynamics can be observed, and their relaxation time and temperature dependence are dominated by the linker flexibilities. This not only provides microscopic understanding on MNP's unique viscoelasticity but also offers enormous opportunities for modulating their mechanical properties via linker engineering. Our work proves the possibility of applying structural units with particle topologies for the design of soft structural materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia-Fu Yin
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices & South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Energy & Information Polymer Materials, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China
| | - Wei Liu-Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices & South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Energy & Information Polymer Materials, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China
| | - Junsheng Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices & South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Energy & Information Polymer Materials, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China
| | - Yuyan Lai
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices & South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Energy & Information Polymer Materials, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China
| | - Binghui Xue
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices & South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Energy & Information Polymer Materials, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China
| | - Haiyan Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices & South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Energy & Information Polymer Materials, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China
| | - Qing-Yun Guo
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Center for Advanced Low-Dimension Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China
| | - Yuchu Liu
- Department of Polymer Science, School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325-3909, United States
| | - Panchao Yin
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices & South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Energy & Information Polymer Materials, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China
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Zhang J, Lei J, Feng P, Floudas G, Zhang G, Zhou J. Capillary filling of star polymer melts in nanopores. J Chem Phys 2024; 160:054903. [PMID: 38341697 DOI: 10.1063/5.0188955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The topology of a polymer profoundly influences its behavior. However, its effect on imbibition dynamics remains poorly understood. In the present work, capillary filling (during imbibition and following full imbibition) of star polymer melts was investigated by molecular dynamics simulations with a coarse-grained model. The reversal of imbibition dynamics observed for linear-chain systems was also present for star polymers. Star polymers with short arms penetrate slower than the prediction of the Lucas-Washburn equation, while systems with long arms penetrate faster. The radius of gyration increases during confined flow, indicating the orientation and disentanglement of arms. In addition, the higher the functionality of the star polymer, the more entanglement points are retained. Besides, a stiff region near the core segments of the stars is observed, which increases in size with functionality. The proportion of different configurations of the arms (e.g., loops, trains, tails) changes dramatically with the arm length and degree of confinement but is only influenced by the functionality when the arms are short. Following full imbibition, the different decay rates of the self-correlation function of the core-to-end vector illustrate that arms take a longer time to reach the equilibrium state as the functionality, arm length, and degree of confinement increase, in agreement with recent experimental findings. Furthermore, the star topology induces a stronger effect of adsorption and friction, which becomes more pronounced with increasing functionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianwei Zhang
- Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
| | - Jinyu Lei
- Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
| | - Pu Feng
- School of Civil Engineering and Transportation, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
| | - George Floudas
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, 55128 Mainz, Germany
- Department of Physics, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
- Institute of Materials Science and Computing, University Research Center of Ioannina (URCI), 45110 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Guangzhao Zhang
- Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
| | - Jiajia Zhou
- South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional and Intelligent Hybrid Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
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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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Kardasis P, Tzourtzouklis I, Nega AD, Sakellariou G, Steinhart M, Floudas G. Topology sorting: Separating linear/star polymer blend components by imbibition in nanopores. J Chem Phys 2024; 160:044912. [PMID: 38294315 DOI: 10.1063/5.0189661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
We report the imbibition and adsorption kinetics of a series of symmetric linear/star cis-1,4-polyisoprene blends within the long channels of self-ordered nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide (abbreviated: AAO). Using in situ nanodielectric spectroscopy, we followed the evolution of the longest chain modes in the blends with a judicious selection of molar masses for the constituent components. We demonstrated differences in the imbibition kinetics of linear and star components based on the relative viscosities (e.g., polymers with lower zero-shear viscosity penetrated first the nanopores). Following the complete imbibition of the pores, the adsorption time, τads, of each component was evaluated from the reduction in the dielectric strength of the respective chain modes. In the majority of blends, both components exhibited slower adsorption kinetics with respect to the homopolymers. The only exception was the case of entangled stars mixed with shorter linear chains, the latter acting as a diluent for the star component. This gives rise to what is known as topology sorting, e.g., the separation of linear/star blend components in the absence of solvent. Moreover, a simple relation (τads ∼ 10 × tpeak; tpeak is the time needed for the complete filling of pores) was found for linear polymers and stars. This suggested that the characteristic timescale of imbibition (tpeak) governs the adsorption process of polymers. It further implied the possibility of predicting the adsorption times of high molar mass polymers of various architectures by the shorter imbibition times.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Alkmini D Nega
- Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15771 Athens, Greece
| | - Georgios Sakellariou
- Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15771 Athens, Greece
| | - Martin Steinhart
- Institut für Chemie neuer Materialien, Universität Osnabrück, D-49069 Osnabrück, Germany
| | - George Floudas
- Department of Physics, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
- University Research Center of Ioannina (URCI) - Institute of Materials Science and Computing, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, 55128 Mainz, Germany
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Kardasis P, Sakellariou G, Steinhart M, Floudas G. Non-equilibrium Effects of Polymer Dynamics under Nanometer Confinement: Effects of Architecture and Molar Mass. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:5570-5581. [PMID: 35834553 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c03389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The non-equilibrium dynamics of linear and star-shaped cis-1,4 polyisoprenes confined within nanoporous alumina is explored as a function of pore size, d, molar mass, and functionality (f = 2, 6, and 64). Two thermal protocols are tested: one resembling a quasi-static process (I) and another involving fast cooling followed by annealing (II). Although both protocols give identical equilibrium times, it is through protocol I that it is easier to extract the equilibrium times, teq, by the linear relationships of the characteristic peak frequencies with time and rate, respectively, as log(fmax) = C1 - k log(t) and log(fmax) = C2 + λ log(β). Both thermal protocols establish the existence of a critical temperature (at Tc, where k → 0 and λ → 0) below which non-equilibrium effects set-in. The critical temperature depends on the degree of confinement, 2Rg/d, and on molecular architecture. Strikingly, establishing equilibrium dynamics at all temperatures above the bulk, Tg, requires 2Rg/d ∼ 0.02, i.e., pore diameters that are much larger than the chain dimensions. This reflects non-equilibrium configurations of the adsorbed layer that extent away from the pore walls. The equilibrium times depend strongly on temperature, pore size, and functionality. In general, star-shaped polymers require longer times to reach equilibrium because of the higher tendency for adsorption. Both thermal protocols produced an increasing dielectric strength for the segmental and chain modes. The increase was beyond any densification, suggesting enhanced orientation correlations of subchain dipoles.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Georgios Sakellariou
- Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15771 Athens, Greece
| | - Martin Steinhart
- Institut für Chemie neuer Materialien, Universität Osnabrück, D-49069 Osnabrück, Germany
| | - George Floudas
- Department of Physics, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece.,Institute of Materials Science and Computing, University Research Center of Ioannina (URCI), 45110 Ioannina, Greece
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Kardasis P, Oikonomopoulos A, Sakellariou G, Steinhart M, Floudas G. Effect of Star Architecture on the Dynamics of 1,4- cis-Polyisoprene under Nanometer Confinement. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c02212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Angelos Oikonomopoulos
- Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 15771, Greece
| | - Georgios Sakellariou
- Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 15771, Greece
| | - Martin Steinhart
- Institut für Chemie neuer Materialien, Universität Osnabrück, Osnabrück D-49069, Germany
| | - George Floudas
- Department of Physics, University of Ioannina, Ioannina 45110, Greece
- Institute of Materials Science and Computing, University Research Center of Ioannina (URCI), Ioannina 45110, Greece
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Parisi D, Buenning E, Kalafatakis N, Gury L, Benicewicz BC, Gauthier M, Cloitre M, Rubinstein M, Kumar SK, Vlassopoulos D. Universal Polymeric-to-Colloidal Transition in Melts of Hairy Nanoparticles. ACS NANO 2021; 15:16697-16708. [PMID: 34623796 PMCID: PMC8905532 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c06672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Two different classes of hairy self-suspended nanoparticles in the melt state, polymer-grafted nanoparticles (GNPs) and star polymers, are shown to display universal dynamic behavior across a broad range of parameter space. Linear viscoelastic measurements on well-characterized silica-poly(methyl acrylate) GNPs with a fixed core radius (Rcore) and grafting density (or number of arms f) but varying arm degree of polymerization (Narm) show two distinctly different regimes of response. The colloidal Regime I with a small Narm (large core volume fraction) is characterized by predominant low-frequency solidlike colloidal plateau and ultraslow relaxation, while the polymeric Regime II with a large Narm (small core volume fractions) has a response dominated by the starlike relaxation of partially interpenetrated arms. The transition between the two regimes is marked by a crossover where both polymeric and colloidal modes are discerned albeit without a distinct colloidal plateau. Similarly, polybutadiene multiarm stars also exhibit the colloidal response of Regime I at very large f and small Narm. The star arm retraction model and a simple scaling model of nanoparticle escape from the cage of neighbors by overcoming a hopping potential barrier due to their elastic deformation quantitatively describe the linear response of the polymeric and colloidal regimes, respectively, in all these cases. The dynamic behavior of hairy nanoparticles of different chemistry and molecular characteristics, investigated here and reported in the literature, can be mapped onto a universal dynamic diagram of f/[Rcore3/ν0)1/4] as a function of (Narmν0f)/(Rcore3), where ν0 is the monomeric volume. In this diagram, the two regimes are separated by a line where the hopping potential ΔUhop is equal to the thermal energy, kBT. ΔUhop can be expressed as a function of the overcrowding parameter x (i.e., the ratio of f to the maximum number of unperturbed chains with Narm that can fill the volume occupied by the polymeric corona); hence, this crossing is shown to occur when x = 1. For x > 1, we have colloidal Regime I with an overcrowded volume, stretched arms, and ΔUhop > kBT, while polymeric Regime II is linked to x < 1. This single-material parameter x can provide the needed design principle to tailor the dynamics of this class of soft materials across a wide range of applications from membranes for gas separation to energy storage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Parisi
- Department of Materials Science and Technology and FORTH, Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, University of Crete, Heraklion 70013, Greece
| | - Eileen Buenning
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10025, United States
| | - Nikolaos Kalafatakis
- Department of Materials Science and Technology and FORTH, Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, University of Crete, Heraklion 70013, Greece
| | - Leo Gury
- Department of Materials Science and Technology and FORTH, Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, University of Crete, Heraklion 70013, Greece
- Molecular, Macromolecular Chemistry and Materials, ESPCI Paris, CNRS, PSL Research University, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Brian C Benicewicz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Mario Gauthier
- Department of Chemistry, Institute for Polymer Research, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Michel Cloitre
- Molecular, Macromolecular Chemistry and Materials, ESPCI Paris, CNRS, PSL Research University, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Michael Rubinstein
- Thomas Lord Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, and Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States
- Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery (WPI-ICReDD), Hokkaido University, Sapporo 001-0021, Japan
| | - Sanat K Kumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10025, United States
| | - Dimitris Vlassopoulos
- Department of Materials Science and Technology and FORTH, Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, University of Crete, Heraklion 70013, Greece
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