6533b870fe1ef96bd12cfcaa

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Penetrant diffusion in frozen polymer matrices: A finite-size scaling study of free volume percolation

H. WeberWolfgang Paul

subject

chemistry.chemical_classificationMaterials sciencePenetrant (mechanical electrical or structural)Condensed matter physicschemistryDiffusion processMonte Carlo methodThermodynamicsPolymerRenormalization groupScalingBond fluctuation modelFick's laws of diffusion

description

The diffusion of penetrant particles in frozen polymer matrices is investigated by means of Monte Carlo simulations of the bond fluctuation model. By applying finite-size scaling to data obtained from very large systems it is demonstrated that the diffusion process takes place on a percolating free volume cluster describable by a correlated site percolation model which falls into the same universality class as random percolation. The diverging correlation length entails a pronounced dependence of the diffusion constant on the size of the simulated system. It is shown that this dependence is appreciable for a wide range of parameters around the transition. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.

https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.54.3999