Search results for "Diffusion"
showing 10 items of 1615 documents
A Monte Carlo study of diffusion in "living polymers"
1996
We report the first numeric experiments on diffusion in living polymers (polymers that can break and recombine reversibly, and are characterized by an exponential molecular weight distribution). In the simulation we use a modification of the bond fluctuation model which is known to reproduce the correct Rouse dynamics of polymer chains. The diffusion coefficient D reveals a Rouse-type behaviour D ∝ 1/L, where L is the average chain length of the polydisperse system. We also find a D ∝ exp [ − V/2kBT] dependence on the bond energy V, whereas at constant temperature the diffusion coefficient turns out to be inversely proportional, D ∝ ρ−1, to the monomer density of the system ρ in agreement w…
Development of core-shell colloids to study self-diffusion in highly concentrated dispersions
2007
To study single particle motion in highly concentrated colloidal dispersions, a host-tracer colloid system was developed, consisting of crosslinked polymer micronetwork spheres placed in a good solvent. The host colloid is made invisible to the experimental probe by matching its refractive index to that of the solvent. For the tracer particles a core-shell structure was chosen to ensure the interaction potential to be identical to that of the host particles. Therefore the shell was made of the same polymer as the host. The core differs in refractive index from the solvent and is therefore visible due to scattered light.
Toluene self-diffusion in solutions of linear and crosslinked polystyrene
1995
Toluene self-diffusion coefficients in solutions of linear and crosslinked polystyrene (PS) at concentrations up to 30 wt% polymer have been determined over the temperature range 143–230 K using the1H n.m.r. static gradient stimulated echo method. At similar polymer concentrations, the diffusion coefficient values of toluene were higher for mixtures with crosslinked PS than for solutions containing linear PS. On cooling and approaching the solution glass transition, the amplitude decays in diffusion and spin-relaxation measurements become non-exponential and are interpreted in terms of a two-component decomposition. The estimated fraction of the toluene motionally bound to polymer increases…
Entropy theory and glass transition: A test by Monte Carlo simulation
1997
This article reviews the results of a test of the Gibbs-DiMarzio theory by Monte Carlo Simulation. The simulation employed the bond-fluctuation model on a simple cubic lattice. This model incorporates two kinds of interactions: the excluded volume interaction among all monomers of the melt and an internal energy of the chains, which favors large bonds and makes the chains stiffen with decreasing temperature. The stiffening of the chains leads to an increase of their volume requirements, which competes with the packing constraints at low temperatures. This competition strongly slows down the structural relaxation of the melt and induces the glassy behavior. The model therefore takes into acc…
Chemical structure and internal diffusion within polymer chains in the melt
1985
The single chain dynamics of polydimethylsiloxane in the melt is studied by means of quasielastic neutron scattering. For this polymer the wave vector range 0.03 A−1≦q≦0.30 A−1 covers the regime of universal modes as well as local diffusive processes. A model is described which incorporates the specific chemical structure of the macromolecule and allows to interpret our data in the full wave vector regime. The only parameter which enters the model, the monomer diffusion constantDm, is found to be (1.2±0.2)·10−5 cm2s−1.
Effects of ions on water structure: a low-field1HT1NMR relaxometry approach
2014
Aqueous salt solutions play an important role in nature because of their effects on environmental biogeochemical processes and on structural properties of biomolecules. Upon dissolution, salts split in ions that are solvated. Water in hydration shells is subjected to molecular motions that can be monitored by (1)H T1 NMR relaxometry. This technique allowed the evaluation of the nature of the interactions between water and ions via variable temperature experiments. Examination of relaxometry properties of aqueous solutions at variable salt concentrations allowed acknowledgement of the role played by ions in either structuring or destructuring water aggregates. A mathematical model has been a…
Self-diffusion in polymer solutions using the bond-fluctuation MC-algorithm
1991
Abstract A lattice Monte Carlo study of the self-diffusion of polymer chains in an athermal solution of equal chains is presented. The examined chain lengths, N (= 20–200), and volume fractions, φ (= 0.025-0.5), cover the range from dilute solution to concentrated solution, respectively. The dynamics show a gradual crossover from Rouse to reptation-like behaviour. Analysing the data according to a scaling theory and taking into account the density dependence of the microscopic length and time-scales, an almost perfect scaling of the self-diffusion coefficient is achieved. The high statistical accuracy of the data (103–104 chains per parameter combination) was obtainable by using a transpute…
NMR Matrix Technique for Detecting Self Diffusion in Polymers
1979
A technique is discussed where monodisperse small spheres or cylindrical fibers of a polymer are embedded in a matrix of the corresponding fully deuterated polymer. On annealing the sample at a temperature above the glass transition the protonated macromolecules diffuse into the deuterated matrix and vice versa. Since the NMR spectrum depends upon the intermolecular proton proton dipolar coupling, the decrease of this coupling can be used to monitor the diffusion process. For particle diameters d ∼ 10−4 cm and annealing times t ∼ 105 s, extremely small diffusion constants D < d2/t are attainable. The NMR analysis of prospective diffusion experiments with polystyrene is discussed in some det…
A friction factor analysis of the coupling between polymer/solvent self- and mutual-diffusion: polystyrene/toluene
1996
The Bearman statistical mechanical theory, which couples the mutual-diffusion and self-diffusion coefficients via friction factors, has been applied to polystyrene/toluene solutions with polystyrene molecular weights of 18 kDa and 900 kDa. Toluene and polystyrene self-diffusion coefficients, obtained from the literature and measured here, along with polystyrene/toluene binary mutual-diffusion coefficients and thermodynamic data, were employed to independently calculate the three friction coefficients (ξ 12 , ξ 11 , and ξ 22 ) required to describe transport within binary solutions. Results reveal that the frequently used geometric mean approximation (GMA) for relating the friction coefficien…
Self-Diffusion of Small Molecules into Rubbery Polymers: A Lattice Free-Volume Theory
2010
In the framework of the Free Volume Theory, a new equation was derived for the evaluation of self-diffusion coefficients of small molecules in polymers above the mixture glass transition temperature. The derivation of the equation turned out to be straightforward once the equivalence between the free-volume and the unoccupied volume given by Thermodynamic Lattice Theories is assumed. A parameter evaluation scheme is proposed, which is substantially simpler compared to the conventional Vrentas-Duda approach, even without losing generality. The key assumption is discussed and its consistency is verified from a numerical viewpoint. A comparison with experimental solvent self-diffusion coeffici…