Pressure-induced crossover from good to poor solvent behavior for polyethylene oxide in water

Enhanced Grüneisen Parameter in Supercooled Water

We use the recently-proposed compressible cell Ising-like model to estimate the ratio between thermal expansivity and specific heat (the Grüneisen parameter Γs) in supercooled water. Near the critical pressure and temperature, Γs becomes significantly sensitive to thermal fluctuations of the order-parameter, a characteristic behavior of pressure-induced critical points. Such enhancement of Γs indicates that two energy scales are governing the system, namely the coexistence of high- and low-density liquids, which become indistinguishable at the critical point in the supercooled phase. The temperature dependence of the compressibility, sound velocity and pseudo-Grüneisen parameter Γw are also reported. Our findings support the proposed liquid-liquid critical point in supercooled water in the No-Man's Land regime, and indicates possible applications of this model to other systems. In particular, an application of the model to the qualitative behavior of the Ising-like nematic phase in Fe-based superconductors is also presented.

Elastic properties of liquid and glassy propane-based alcohols under high pressure: the increasing role of hydrogen bonds in a homologous family

We have measured the elastic moduli of liquid and glassy n-propanol and propylene glycol (PG) under pressure by ultrasonic techniques and have recalculated similar characteristics for glycerol from the previous experiment. All three substances form a ternary homologous family with the common formula C3H8-n(OH)n (n = 1, 2, 3), where the number of hydrogen bonds per molecule increases with the number of oxygen atoms approximately as ≈2n. In turn, the enhancement of hydrogen bonding results in an increase in elastic moduli (bulk modulus for liquids or bulk and shear moduli for glasses) from n-propanol to glycerol at all pressures, while the volume per molecule Vm shows the opposite trend at atmospheric pressure in spite of an increase in the molecular size. Nevertheless, the ratios between the Vm values at pressure P > 0.05 GPa are inverted in liquids and tend to the ratios of molecule volumes which indicates a decrease of the relative contribution of hydrogen bonds to the repulsive intermolecular forces with increasing pressure regardless of increase or decrease in the number of hydrogen bonds and their strength. A similar volume behavior is observed for glasses at T = 77 K. We have also established that the relative difference between corresponding moduli of liquid or glassy n-propanol and PG is remarkably less than that between corresponding values for PG and glycerol. We explain this property by the formation of a three-dimensional network of hydrogen bonds in glycerol, where the number of hydrogen bonds per molecule is close to six.

Pressure-Stimulated Supercrystal Formation in Nanoparticle Suspensions

Nanoparticles can self-organize into "supercrystals" with many potential applications. Different paths can lead to nanoparticle self-organization into such periodic arrangements. An essential step is the transition from an amorphous state to the crystalline one. We investigate how pressure can induce a phase transition of a nanoparticle model system in water from the disordered liquid state to highly ordered supercrystals. We observe reversible pressure-induced supercrystal formation in concentrated solutions of gold nanoparticles by means of small-angle X-ray scattering. The supercrystal formation occurs only at high salt concentrations in the aqueous solution. The pressure dependence of the structural parameters of the resulting crystal lattices is determined. The observed transition can be reasoned with the combined effect of salt and pressure on the solubility of the organic PEG shell that passivates the nanoparticles.

Predicting the Fluid-Phase Behavior of Aqueous Solutions of ELP (VPGVG) Sequences Using SAFT-VR

The statistical associating fluid theory for potentials of variable range (SAFT-VR) is used to predict the fluid phase behavior of elastin-like polypeptide (ELP) sequences in aqueous solution with special focus on the loci of lower critical solution temperatures (LCSTs). A SAFT-VR model for these solutions is developed following a coarse-graining approach combining information from atomistic simulations and from previous SAFT models for previously reported relevant systems. Constant-pressure temperature-composition phase diagrams are determined for solutions of (VPGVG)_n sequences + water with n = 1 to 300. The SAFT-VR equation of state lends itself to the straightforward calculation of phase boundaries so that complete fluid-phase equilibria can be calculated efficiently. A broad range of thermodynamic conditions of temperature and pressure are considered, and regions of vapor-liquid and liquid-liquid coexistence, including LCSTs, are found. The calculated phase boundaries at low concentrations match those measured experimentally. The temperature-composition phase diagrams of the aqueous ELP solutions at low pressure (0.1 MPa) are similar to those of types V and VI phase behavior in the classification of Scott and van Konynenburg. An analysis of the high-pressure phase behavior confirms, however, that a closed-loop liquid-liquid immiscibility region, separate from the gas-liquid envelope, is present for aqueous solutions of (VPGVG)₃₀; such a phase diagram is typical of type VI phase behavior. ELPs with shorter lengths exhibit both liquid-liquid and gas-liquid regions, both of which become less extensive as the chain length of the ELP is decreased. The strength of the hydrogen-bonding interaction is also found to affect the phase diagram of the (VPGVG)₃₀ system in that the liquid-liquid and gas-liquid regions expand as the hydrogen-bonding strength is decreased and shrink as it is increased. The LCSTs of the mixtures are seen to decrease as the ELP chain length is increased.

Liquid-liquid two-phase systems for the production of porous hydrogels and hydrogel microspheres for biomedical applications: A tutorial review

Macroporous hydrogels may have direct applications in regenerative medicine as scaffolds to support tissue formation. Hydrogel microspheres may be used as drug-delivery vehicles or as building blocks to assemble modular scaffolds. A variety of techniques exist to produce macroporous hydrogels and hydrogel microspheres. A subset of these relies on liquid-liquid two-phase systems. Within this subset, vastly different types of polymerization processes are found. In this review, the history, terminology and classification of liquid-liquid two-phase polymerization and crosslinking are described. Instructive examples of hydrogel microsphere and macroporous scaffold formation by precipitation/dispersion, emulsion and suspension polymerizations are used to illustrate the nature of these processes. The role of the kinetics of phase separation in determining the morphology of scaffolds and microspheres is also delineated. Brief descriptions of miniemulsion, microemulsion polymerization and ionotropic gelation are also included.

Pressure-induced reentrant micellization of amphiphilic block copolymers in dilute aqueous solutions

The pressure-induced structural changes of a block copolymer, poly(2-ethoxyethoxyethyl vinyl ether)-block-poly(2-hydroxyethyl vinyl ether) (pEOEOVE-b-pHOVE) in aqueous solutions, were studied by means of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) from atmospheric pressure up to 400 MPa. pEOEOVE-b-pHOVE formed a spherical micellar structure above 40 degrees C due to poor solubility of pEOEOVE. Micellization phase diagram was determined by DLS, and a covex-upward pressure-temperature (P-T) phase diagram was obtained having a peak around (P,T)=(150 MPa,48 degrees C). The SANS curves at 50 degrees C were analyzed as a function of P. The micellar core size decreased by pressurizing at low P's (P<or=150 MPa) and then increased by further pressurizing (150 MPa<P<400 MPa). It was confirmed that the water volume fraction in the micellar core was larger at high P's than that at low P's even when the core sizes are the same at both pressure regions. This means that the temperature dependence of hydration is more selective at low pressures than at high pressures, in good accordance with our previous results on concentrated aqueous solutions of block copolymers [Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 048303 (2006)].

Unified model of association-induced lower critical solution temperature phase separation and its application to solutions of telechelic poly(ethylene oxide) and of telechelic poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) in water

The authors present a model describing the coexistence of hydrophobic association and phase separation with lower critical solution temperature (LCST) in aqueous solutions of polymers carrying short hydrophobic chains at both chain ends (telechelic associating polymers). The LCST of these solutions is found to decrease along the sol/gel transition curve as a result of both end-chain association (association-induced phase separation) and direct hydrophobic interaction of the end chains with water. The authors relate the magnitude of the LCST decrease to a hydration cooperativity parameter sigma. The LCST decreases substantially (approximately 100 K) in the case of random hydration (sigma=1), whereas only a small shift (approximately 5-10 K) occurs in the case of cooperative hydration (sigma=0.3). The molecular weight dependence of the LCST drop is studied in detail in each case. The results are compared with experimental observations of the cloud points of telechelic poly(ethylene oxide) solutions, in which random hydration predominates, and of telechelic poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) solutions, in which cooperative hydration prevails.

Thermodynamic scaling of the viscosity of van der Waals, H-bonded, and ionic liquids

Viscosities eta and their temperature T and volume V dependences are reported for seven molecular liquids and polymers. In combination with literature viscosity data for five other liquids, we show that the superpositioning of relaxation times for various glass-forming materials when expressed as a function of TV(gamma), where the exponent gamma is a material constant, can be extended to the viscosity. The latter is usually measured to higher temperatures than the corresponding relaxation times, demonstrating the validity of the thermodynamic scaling throughout the supercooled and higher T regimes. The value of gamma for a given liquid principally reflects the magnitude of the intermolecular forces (e.g., steepness of the repulsive potential); thus, we find decreasing gamma in going from van der Waals fluids to ionic liquids. For some strongly H-bonded materials, such as low molecular weight polypropylene glycol and water, the superpositioning fails, due to the nontrivial change of chemical structure (degree of H bonding) with thermodynamic conditions.

Thermodynamic interpretation of the scaling of the dynamics of supercooled liquids

The recently discovered scaling law for the relaxation times, tau(T,upsilon) = I(Tupsilon(gamma)), where T is temperature and upsilon the specific volume, is derived by a revision of the entropy model of the glass transition dynamics originally proposed by Avramov [J. Non-Cryst. Solids 262, 258 (2000)]. In this modification the entropy is calculated by an alternative route. The resulting expression for the variation of the relaxation time with T and upsilon is shown to accurately fit experimental data for several glass-forming liquids and polymers over an extended range encompassing the dynamic crossover. From this analysis, which is valid for any model in which the relaxation time is a function of the entropy, we find that the scaling exponent gamma can be identified with the Gruneisen constant.

Emergence of a new feature in the high pressure-high temperature relaxation spectrum of tri-propylene glycol

We investigated dielectric relaxation of a tri-propylene glycol system under high compression. By increasing temperature and pressure we observed that a new relaxation process emerges from the low frequency tail of the structural peak. This new peak starts to be visible at about 0.5 GPa and becomes clearly evident at 1.7 GPa. However, this additional peak merges again with the structural one as the glass transition is approached, since it has a weaker temperature dependence. This finding enriches the relaxation scenario of molecular glass formers confirming that the application of very high hydrostatic pressure can favor the detection of new relaxation or otherwise unresolved processes in supercooled liquid systems.

Classification of secondary relaxation in glass-formers based on dynamic properties

Dynamic properties, derived from dielectric relaxation spectra of glass-formers at variable temperature and pressure, are used to characterize and classify any resolved or unresolved secondary relaxation based on their different behaviors. The dynamic properties of the secondary relaxation used include: (1) the pressure and temperature dependences; (2) the separation between its relaxation time taubeta and the primary relaxation time taualpha at any chosen taualpha; (3) whether taubeta is approximately equal to the independent (primitive) relaxation time tau0 of the coupling model; (4) whether both taubeta and tau0 have the same pressure and temperature dependences; (5) whether it is responsible for the "excess wing" of the primary relaxation observed in some glass-formers; (6) how the excess wing changes on aging, blending with another miscible glass-former, or increasing the molecular weight of the glass-former; (7) the change of temperature dependence of its dielectric strength Deltaepsilonbeta and taubeta across the glass transition temperature Tg; (8) the changes of Deltaepsilonbeta and taubeta with aging below Tg; (9) whether it arises in a glass-former composed of totally rigid molecules without any internal degree of freedom; (10) whether only a part of the molecule is involved; and (11) whether it tends to merge with the alpha-relaxation at temperatures above Tg. After the secondary relaxations in many glass-formers have been characterized and classified, we identify the class of secondary relaxations that bears a strong connection or correlation to the primary relaxation in all the dynamic properties. Secondary relaxations found in rigid molecular glass-formers belong to this class. The secondary relaxations in this class play the important role as a precursor or local step of the primary relaxation, and we propose that only they should be called the Johari-Goldstein beta-relaxation.

Pressure-temperature gelatinization phase diagram of starch: An in situ Fourier transform infrared study

The gelatinization of rice starch is reported as a function of temperature and pressure from the changes in the ir spectrum. The diagram that is observed is reminiscent of those obtained for the denaturation of proteins and the phase separation observed from the cloud point for several water soluble synthetic polymers. It is proposed that the reentrant shape of the diagram for starch is not only due to hydrogen bonding but also to the imperfect packing of amylose and amylopectin chains in the starch granule. The influence of pressure and temperature on thermodynamic parameters leading to this diagram is discussed.

Pressure-induced protein-folding/unfolding kinetics

We use an off-lattice minimalist model to describe the effects of pressure in slowing down the folding/unfolding kinetics of proteins when subjected to increasingly larger pressures. The potential energy function used to describe the interactions between beads in the model includes the effects of pressure on the pairwise interaction of hydrophobic groups in water. We show that pressure affects the participation of contacts in the transition state. More significantly, pressure exponentially decreases the chain reconfigurational diffusion coefficient. These results are consistent with experimental results on the kinetics of pressure-denaturation of staphylococcal nuclease.