Properties of a water layer on hydrophilic and hydrophobic self-assembled monolayer surfaces: A molecular dynamics study

The microscopic behaviors of a water layer on different hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces of well ordered self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are studied by molecular dynamics simulations. The SAMs consist of 18-carbon alkyl chains bound to a silicon(111) substrate, and the characteristic of its surface is tuned from hydrophobic to hydrophilic by using different terminal functional groups ( CH 3 , COOH). In the simulation, the properties of water membranes adjacent to the surfaces of SAMs were reported by comparing pure water in mobility, structure, and orientational ordering of water molecules. The results suggest that the mobility of water molecules adjacent to hydrophilic surface becomes weaker and the molecules have a better ordering. The distribution of hydrogen bonds indicates that the number of water-water hydrogen bonds per water molecule tends to be lower. However, the mobility of water molecules and distribution of hydrogen bonds of a water membrane in hydropho- bic system are nearly the same as those in pure water system. In addition, hydrogen bonds are mainly formed between the hydroxyl of the COOH group and water molecules in a hydrophilic system, which is helpful in understanding the structure of interfacial water.     

Novel amphoteric pH-sensitive hydrogels derived from ethylenediaminetetraacetic dianhydride, butanediamine and amino-terminated poly(ethylene glycol): Design, synthesis and swelling behavior

Novel amphoteric pH-sensitive hydrogels with pendant carboxyl and backbone tertiary amine groups were designed and synthesized. First, ethylenediaminetetraacetic dianhydride (EDTAD) reacted with butanediamine (BDA) via N-acylation reaction to give a polyamide prepolymer with pendant carboxyl groups (PEB–COOH); then amino-terminated poly(ethylene glycol) 500 (ATPEG500) was added as a cross-linking agent to produce the desired network polymer (PEB–ATPEG500–COOH). The obtained hydrogels are potentially degradable and non-toxic since its backbone and cross-linking sections are both linked by amide bonds and all monomers have been proved as safe. FTIR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and ninhydrin reaction method were employed to qualitatively and quantitatively characterize the obtained polymers. The effect of cross-linking agent amount, characterized by the molar ratios (R_m) of NH₂ groups in ATPEG500 to pendant COOH groups in PEB–COOH, on the swelling behavior of the proposed hydrogel was examined. The results indicate that the equilibrium swelling ratio decreases and the pH-sensitivity becomes retarded with the increase of R_m. For PEB–ATPEG500–COOH hydrogels with R_m no more than 0.42, they exhibited three SR_e variation zones at pH 2–4, pH 6–7 and pH 9–11, respectively, suggesting obvious and interesting amphoteric pH-sensitivity. In addition, the swelling kinetics tests on PEB–ATPEG500–COOH with R_m = 0.32 reveal that the swelling kinetics of proposed hydrogel follows a Fickian diffusion process in media of pH 7, and an anomalous diffusion process in media of pH 2 and 11. The above obtained results will facilitate the application of this proposed hydrogel in biomedical fields, particularly in the drug controlled release.     

A Multiresponsive Hydrophobic Associating Hydrogel Based on Azobenzene and Spiropyran

Stimuli‐responsive hydrogels crosslinked by weak noncovalent bonds such as hydrogen bonds, ionic interactions, host‐guest interactions and hydrophobic interactions have been extensively investigated. Herein, azobenzene and spiropyran acting as two hydrophobic pendant groups were introduced into a hydrophilic polyacrylamide (PAM) via free radical copolymerization to construct a hydrophobic interaction based thermo‐, light‐ responsive polymer hydrogel. Its viscosity and color could be reversibly regulated by heating and cooling. Meanwhile, its color could be specifically switched by light without obvious viscosity change. The gel was also capable of being transited to sol by addition of β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD), which encaged the hydrophobic groups and then increased the solubility of polymer in water. The hydrogel could be regained after UV irradiation at λ = 365 nm, and after irradiation at λ = 440 nm, the hydrogel changed into a clear sol again.     

Formation of hydrogen bonding in ionized poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) gels by continuous water exchange

The effects of continuous water exchange on the swelling behavior of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide‐co‐sodium acrylate) gel were studied. The diameter of gels and the Na⁺ concentration in the solvent were measured at several constant intervals after the solvent (the distilled deionized water) was exchanged. The diameter decreased at room temperature as the solvent was exchanged with water, and it continued to decrease even after more than about 97% of the initial Na⁺ diffused into the water. Thus, the final swelling ratio of the gel was only slightly larger than that of the neutral poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) gel. To reveal the structural change in molecular level, solid‐state ¹³C cross‐polarization/magic‐angle spinning, solid‐state ¹H combined rotation and multiple‐pulse spectroscopy, and swollen‐state ¹³C dipolar decoupled/magic‐angle spinning NMR experiments were carried out for several dried and swollen samples by varying the times of water exchange. As a result, the intensity and position of the carboxyl peak changed, and the relative intensity of the nonionized carboxyl groups of gels increased with an increasing number of water exchanges. These results indicated that hydrogen bonding was formed between the two, nonionized carboxyl groups (? COOH) and/or between the ? COOH and ? CONH? groups. The macroscopic polymer network shrinkage is discussed in terms of the replacement of counterions Na⁺ by H⁺ and of the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonding. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1090–1098, 2004     

含聚1,3-二氧戊环链段可降解pH敏感性水凝胶的合成与表征

制备了含聚 1,3 二氧戊环链段具有pH敏感性的可解体聚合物凝胶网络 ,网络可在水中及有机溶剂中溶胀 ,且由聚 1,3 二氧戊环构成的水凝胶成分可以在酸性介质中降解 ,使网络解体 .利用红外光谱、色 质联谱等分析手段对聚合物凝胶网络进行了表征 .通过对降解产物的分析 ,一方面证实了降解现象的存在 ,另一方面证实了聚合反应机理     

Ferrocene compounds. XXXIV. 1′‐(tert‐Butoxycarbonylamino)ferrocene‐1‐carboxylic acid

Heteroannularly substituted ferrocene derivatives can act as model systems for various hydrogen‐bonded assemblies of biomol­ecules formed, for instance, by means of O—H⋯O and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonding. The crystal structure analysis of 1′‐(tert‐butoxy­carbonyl­amino)­ferrocene‐1‐carbox­ylic acid, [Fe(C₁₀H₁₄NO₂)(C₆H₅O₂)] or (C₅H₄COOH)Fe(C₅­H₄NHCOOC(CH₃)₃, reveals two independent mol­ecules within the asymmetric unit, and these are joined into discrete dimers by two types of intermolecular hydrogen bonds, viz. O—H⋯O and N—H⋯O. The –COOH and –NHCOOR groups are archetypes for dimer formation via two eight‐membered rings. The O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds [2.656 (3) and 2.663 (3) Å] form a cyclic carboxylic acid dimer motif. Another eight‐membered ring is formed by N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds [2.827 (3) and 2.854 (3) Å] between the N—H group and an O atom of another carbamoyl moiety. The dimers are assembled in a herring‐bone fashion in the bc plane.     

Crystal Structure of di-(L-alanine)Monophosphite Monohydrate [{\rm C}_3{\rm O}_2{\rm NH}_7 ]_2 \cdot {\rm H}_3 {\rm PO}_3 \cdot {\rm H}_2{\rm O}

An X-ray analysis of the crystal structure of di-(L-alanine)monophosphite monohydrate was carried out. The symmetrically nonequivalent L-alanine molecules were found to be present in the structure in two different forms coupled by a strong hydrogen bond: monoprotonated positively charged [CH₃CH(NH₃)COOH] molecule and CH₃CH(NH₃)COO zwitterion. Two layers are distinguished in the structure: one is a positively charged layer formed by L-alanine molecules and the other is a negatively charged layer composed of phosphite ions and water molecules. These layers, alternating along the a axis, are connected to each other by a network of hydrogen bonds.     

Hydrophobic interaction in poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) homogeneous hydrogel

Homogeneous poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) hydrogel exhibits a narrow range of swelling at equilibrium in water (% H₂O, 41.09 ± 0.15 standard error of the mean of 24 samples), regardless of the dilution of the monomer solution and relatively low level of crosslinking. It is postulated that PHEMA hydrogel has, in addition to its covalently linked network structure, a secondary structure stabilized by hydrophobic bonding. The addition of microsolutes to the hydrogel seems to confirm this hypothesis. The hydrogel swells beyond its swelling equilibrium in water in presence of urea and its methyl derivatives. Swelling is also induced by organic solvents like alcohol and acetone, and by anions like iodide, acetate, trichloroacetate, and thiocyanate. Chlorides and sulfates produce a less swollen hydrogel than pure water, while bromides and cetylpyridinium chloride, in the concentrations tested, induce only a slight deswelling of the gel. When PHEMA gel prepared in organic solvent–water solutions is placed in water, the gel passes through an opaque state before becoming transparent again. This phenomenon is interpreted as being caused by the inability of water to solvate the hydrophilic ends of the unorganized polymer segments. Homogeneity returns to the gel after a rearrangement of the chains, directed by the interaction of the hydrophobic portions of the polymer segments, exposing to the solvent–water most of the hydrophilic sites in the network.     

Physical gelation of melamine formaldehyde resin solutions. II. A combined light-scattering and low-resolution relaxation proton NMR study

The kinetics of physical gelation in aqueous melamine formaldehyde (MF) resin solutions were studied with the aid of low-resolution ¹H NMR T₂ relaxation experiments in combination with both static and dynamic light-scattering measurements. The investigations were conducted on a series of MF resins with increasing degrees of condensation. We show that MF aggregates (aided by hydrogen bonds) were immediately formed upon cooling from reaction to room temperature, that is, storage temperature. Surprisingly, the growth of these aggregates, which eventually led to the formation of a physical gel, did not have a major effect on molecular mobility. By means of light-scattering experiments, we were able to monitor the increase of the size of MF aggregates as a function of storage time. The physically gelled MF solutions were subjected to heating and subsequent cooling runs and again studied by light-scattering and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. MF aggregates were destroyed, depending on the degree of condensation, in the temperature range 35–60 °C according to NMR, and 40–75 °C as determined by light scattering. The process of physical gelation was reversible; upon subsequent cooling, the MF aggregates were formed anew. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 3307–3318, 1999     

Grenzen für die Bildung lamellarer Metall‐di(arensulfonyl)amide: Drei Lithium‐Komplexe und ein Cadmium‐Komplex

Structures of Ionic Di(arenesulfonyl)amides. 6. Limits to the Formation of Lamellar Metal Di(arenesulfonyl)amides: Three Lithium Complexes and One Cadmium Complex According to low‐temperature X‐ray studies, the new compounds LiN(SO₂C₆H₄‐4‐X)₂ · 2 H₂O, where X = COOH ( 1 ) or COOMe ( 2 ), LiN(SO₂C₆H₄‐4‐CONH₂)₂ · 4 H₂O ( 3 ), and Cd[N(SO₂C₆H₄‐4‐COOH)₂]₂ · 8 H₂O ( 4 ) crystallize in the triclinic space group P1 ( 1 – 3 : Z′ = 1; 4 : Z′ = 1/2, Cd²⁺ on an inversion centre) and display almost perfectly folded anions approximating to mirror symmetry. The lithium ions in 1 – 3 have distorted tetrahedral environments respectively set up by two O=S groups drawn from different anions and two water molecules, two O=S groups of a chelating anion and two water molecules, or one O=C group and three water ligands, whereas the cation of 4 is fully hydrated to form an octahedral [Cd(H₂O)₆]²⁺ complex. The structure refinements for 3 and 4 were marred by positional disorder of the non‐coordinating N(SO₂)₂ moieties. Compounds 1 and 4 extend a previously described series of lamellar metal di(arenesulfonyl)amides where the two‐dimensional inorganic component is comprised of cations, N(SO₂)₂ groups and water molecules and the outer regions are formed by the 4‐substituted phenyl rings. Both crystal packings are governed by self‐assembly of parallel layers through exhaustive hydrogen bonding between carboxylic groups, and there is good evidence that the labile inorganic networks, generated via Li–O and hydrogen bonds in 1 or solely hydrogen bonds in 4 , are efficiently stabilized by the strong cyclic (COOH)₂ motifs within the interlayer regions. In the absence of these, the lamellar architecture is seen to collapse in 2 and 3 , where the carboxyl groups are replaced by methoxycarbonyl or carbamoyl functions and the inorganic components are segregated in parallel tunnels pervading the anion lattices.     

Density functional theoretical study of pKa of RCOOH (RH,CH3, and C2H5) using the combination of the extended clusters‐continuum model

The accurate pK_a determinations for three carboxylic acids have been investigated using the combination of the extended clusters‐continuum model at B3LYP/6‐31+g(d,p) and B3LYP/6‐311++g(d,p) levels. To take into account of the effect of the water combined with carboxylic acids in different positions, eleven molecular clusters were considered. Among these clusters, the one involving the carboxylic acid wrapped up with water molecules and saturated with hydrogen bonds (four hydrogen bonds around ? COOH) leads to the best B3LYP pK_a results compared to the experimental data. For those clusters saturated with hydrogen bonds, when n = 3 (the number of water molecules), the average absolute errors between the calculated pK_a results and experimental data of these three carboxylic acids were 0.19 (0.23) and 0.12 (0.22) pK_a at B3LYP/6‐31+g(d,p)//PCM (IEFPCM) and B3LYP/6‐311++g(d,p)//PCM (IEFPCM) levels, respectively; when n = 4, they are 0.53 (1.23) and 1.09 (1.03) pK_a, respectively. On the basis of the above results, the molecular cluster saturated with four hydrogen bonds formed by three waters and one carboxylic acid molecule was the chief existence in the carboxylic acid solution. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2012     

Dynamics of Poly(vinylmethyl ether) Blends with a Strongly Interassociating Copolymer

We apply broadband dielectric relaxation spectroscopy to probe the dynamics of hydrogen bonded polymer blends. A copolymer consisting of 2,3-dimethylbutadiene (DMB) [86%] and p-(hexafluoro-2-hydroxyl-2-propyl)styrene (HFS) [14%] was synthesized and blended with poly(vinylmethyl ether) (PVME). The copolymer is capable of forming strong intermolecular hydrogen bonds, while minimizing the degree of intramolecular associations, and its blends with PVME are predicted to be miscible over the entire composition range. Two segmental processes, α and α₁, are present in blends containing 26, 50, and 76 weight percent copolymer. The slower process (α₁) is assigned to the segmental motion of the intermolecularly associated copolymer, and the faster process (α) to segmental motions of PVME modified by the HFS:DMB copolymer. A relaxation associated with residual water is present in the glassy state. A local process due to motions of the PVME ether groups (β) is also present in the glassy state, and does not change with blend composition.     

Synthesis, characterization and swelling properties of a chemically cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel

A poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel was prepared by coupling poly(vinyl alcohol) with epichlorohydrin as the cross-linking agent. The structure of the hydrogel was characterized by FTIR and GPC techniques. Various amounts of water were added into the dry gel to swell it, and the quantity of water in various states in the partially swollen hydrogel was determined by DSC technique. The analytical results indicate that the water introduced into the dry gel first combines with the hydrophilic groups of the network chains through hydrogen bond forming non-freezable water. The weight ratio of the non-freezable water to dry gel in the hydrogels is about 0.20. After the non-freezable water is saturated, the additional water penetrates the network space and exists simultaneously both in the freezable and free water states until reaching equilibrium swelling. Translated from Acta Polymeric Sinica, 2006, (5): 671–675 (in Chinese)     

Preparation and characterization of novel physically cross-linked hydrogels composed of poly(vinyl alcohol) and amine-terminated polyamidoamine dendrimer

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers are water-soluble, biocompatible and biodegradable polymers, which have been widely applied in biomedical fields. In this paper, novel physically cross-linked hydrogels composed of PVA and amine-terminated PAMAM dendrimer G6-NH(2) were prepared by cyclic freezing/thawing treatment of aqueous solutions containing PVA and G6-NH(2). The FT-IR analysis and elemental analysis indicated that PAMAM dendrimer G6-NH(2) was successfully introduced into the formed hydrogels, possibly via hydrogen bonds among hydroxyl groups, amide groups and amino groups in PVA and PAMAM dendrimer in the process of freezing-thawing cycle. Compared with physically cross-linked PVA hydrogel, PVA/G6-NH(2) hydrogels show higher swelling ratios and faster re-swelling rate due to the higher hydrophilicity of PAMAM dendrimer G6-NH(2). Higher contents of G6-NH(2) in PVA/G6-NH(2) hydrogels resulted in higher swelling ratios and faster re-swelling rates. With increasing freezing/thawing cyclic times, the swelling ratios and re-swelling rates of PVA/G6-NH(2) hydrogels decreased, which is similar to that of physically cross-linked PVA hydrogel. Combining the special host property of polyamidoamine dendrimer, these novel physically cross-linked hydrogels are expected to have potential use in drug delivery, including improving drug-loading amounts in hydrogels and prolonging drug release time. Swelling ratios of physically cross-linked PVA/G6-NH(2)-50 hydrogels prepared by three, six, nine freezing/thawing cycles. The swelling equilibrium experiments were carried out in distilled water at 25 degrees C.     

Synthesis and characterization of thermoresponsive poly(<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-isopropylacrylamide-co-<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-hydroxymethylacrylamide-co-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) hydrogels

Thermoresponsive hydrogels based on N-isopropylacrylamide, N-hydroxymethylacrylamide, and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, poly(NIPAM–co-NHMAAm–co-HEMA), have been synthesized and their swelling—deswelling behavior studied as a function of NIPAM concentration, NIPAM/NHMAAm and NIPAM/HEMA mole ratio, and total monomer concentration. Copolymers varying in composition have been obtained by redox copolymerization of these three monomers. Temperature has been changed in the ranges from 4 to 70 °C at fixed pH and total ionic strength. Equilibrium swelling ratio, dynamic swelling ratio, and dynamic deswelling ratio were evaluated for all hydrogel systems. The equilibrium swelling ratios of the copolymeric gels decrease with increasing NHMAAm and HEMA content. The formation of the intermolecular hydrogen bonding between hydroxyl and amido groups decreases the hydrophilic group numbers of the gel and the affinity of the gel towards water decreases. The copolymer gels also showed rapid volume transitions with time. The time required for equilibrium shrinking increased with increasing NHMAAm and HEMA content in the gel.     

Thixotropic behavior of metal-containing coordination polymers: Melt viscosity of neutral aliphatic polyesters with Zn carboxylates

The viscosity behavior of polymer melts containing complexes formed between the neutralized polyester poly(diethylene glycol-co-succinic acid) and Zn acetates is discussed. The melt viscosity of these materials increases with the concentration of metal ions, and shows strong thixotropy and shear thinning. This behavior is attributed to the formation of coordination bonds between the electron donor groups within the polyester chain, and empty coordination sites of the various Zn acetate salts. The coordination complexes were obtained in situ in the polymer melt, which contains well-dispersed ZnO, by adding an equimolar amount of CH₃COOH. It is proposed that the shear applied to the polymer melt destroys the polar network of the coordination polymer at a rate that is greater than the rate of reformation of the coordination bonds for the sample returning back to equilibrium, following a shear deformation. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Double Hydrogen‐Bonding pH‐Sensitive Hydrogels Retaining High‐Strengths Over a Wide pH Range

Traditional pH‐sensitive hydrogels inevitably suffer strength deterioration while the responsive weak acid or base groups are in the ionized state. In this study, we report on a facile approach to fabricate a novel pH‐sensitive high‐strength hydrogel from copolymerization of two hydrogen‐bonding motif‐containing monomers, 3‐acrylamidophenylboronic acid and 2‐vinyl‐4,6‐diamino‐1,3,5‐triazine with a crosslinker N,N‐methylenebisacrylamide through hydrophilic optimization of the comonomer oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate. The double hydrogen bonding hydrogel exhibits both high tensile and compressive strengths over a broad pH range due to the unique ability to maintain at least one type of hydrogen‐bonding crosslink over the whole course of pH change.     

一种快速响应电场敏感多孔水凝胶的合成及其性能研究

以4-乙酰基丙烯酰乙酸乙酯(AAEA)、2-丙烯酰胺基-2-甲基-1-丙磺酸(AMPS)为单体,不同分子量的聚乙二醇(PEG)为成孔剂,通过自由基溶液聚合法,合成了新型多孔快速响应电场敏感性水凝胶.结果表明,成孔剂PEG被洗脱后在凝胶内部形成了互相贯穿的孔洞结构,孔径在30～120μm之间.以PEG6000为成孔剂致孔后的多孔凝胶溶胀速率和消溶胀速率最快,在去离子水中30s达到溶胀平衡,在0.1mol/L的NaCl溶液中40min达到消溶胀平衡;电场作用下凝胶的消溶胀速度大大加快,12min内即可达到平衡.凝胶中AMPS含量的增多会加快凝胶在电场中的响应速度;而高温下,随着AAEA含量的增加,凝胶内部疏水基团增多并收缩产生大量的疏水微区,限制了凝胶内部水分的持续排出,因此n(AAEA)∶n(AMPS)=3∶1的凝胶4min内即可排出表面水分达到消溶胀平衡,可保水率却高达75%.同时,增大电解液的pH值、浓度以及提高电解电压,均会加快凝胶的消溶胀行为.     

Role‐Allocated Combination of Two Types of Hydrogen Bonds towards Constructing a Breathing Diamondoid Porous Organic Salt

A diamondoid porous organic salt (d‐POS) composed of 8‐hydroxyquinoline‐5‐sulfonic acid (HQS) and triphenylmethylamine (TPMA) shows reversible structure contraction and expansion (“breathing”) in response to guest desorption and adsorption. This flexible structure is designed hierarchically by utilizing two different types of hydrogen bonds. X‐ray crystallographic analysis reveals that the two types of hydrogen bonds are formed separately to play respective roles for constructing the d‐POS. The strong charge‐assisted hydrogen bond between the sulfonate anion of HQS and the ammonium cation of TPMA serves as a static node to provide a supramolecular cluster for a building block. In contrast, the complementary neutral hydrogen bond between the hydroxyl and quinolyl groups of HQS acts as a dynamic linker to connect the clusters. Consequently, these two types of hydrogen bonds yield the d‐POS with one‐dimensional channels through the formation of diamondoid networks. We clarify that the d‐POS undergoes dynamic structure transformation that originates in the cleavage and reformation of the complementary neutral hydrogen bond during guest desorption and adsorption. From the comparative studies, it is also demonstrated that applying the complementary neutral hydrogen bond in the d‐POS provides significant advantages in terms of the responsivity of the structure over applying other weak noncovalent interactions for the connection of the clusters. Furthermore, the resultant d‐POS also modulates fluorescent profiles dynamically responsive to guest adsorption and desorption.     

Water structure and mobility in acrylamide copolymer glycohydrogels with galactose and siloxane pendant groups

Glycohydrogels containing 2′‐acrylamidoethyl‐β‐d ‐galactopyranoside and varying levels of N,N′ methylene bisacrylamide and 3‐acrylamidopropyltris(trimethylsiloxy)silane were synthesized to determine the effects of crosslinker and amphipathic balance on equilibrium water content (EWC), bound water population, and hydrogen bonding dynamics at the water–polymer interface. Analogous dimethylacrylamide hydrogels were synthesized for comparison with a system containing lower hydrogen bonding propensity. An approach combining experiment (proton nuclear magnetic resonance, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and dynamic vapor sorption analysis) and molecular dynamics simulations was employed to examine the relationship between bulk hydrogel properties, molecular water mobility, and hydrogen bonding characteristics. It was found that copolymer composition (hydrophobic content) and crosslink concentration in high water content glycohydrogels affect EWC, and by extension, structural water population. The organization of water at the polymer interface is greatly impacted by the surrounding environment, where hindered molecular water mobility promotes water–polymer binding and decreases water–water clustering. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 584–597