Communication: broken-ergodicity and the emergence of solid behaviour in amorphous materials

Using a combination of theory and molecular dynamics simulations, we show how solid behaviour emerges in amorphous materials from microscopic considerations. The effect on the systems response to a sudden change in strain, upon entering the history dependent glass state, is focused on. An important symmetry that is always present in a fluid state, is shown to be broken for a simulated history dependent amorphous solid. Details of how this applies to a single sample and an ensemble of independent samples are discussed, along with the dependence on the time scale the system is monitored on.     

Coherent thermodynamic model for solid,liquid and gas phases of elements and simple compounds in wide ranges of pressure and temperature

Thermodynamic modeling of fluids (liquids and gases) uses mostly series expansions which diverge at low temperatures and do not fit to the behavior of metastable quenched fluids (amorphous, glass like solids). These divergences are removed in the present approach by the use of reasonable forms for the “cold” potential energy and for the thermal pressure of the fluid system. Both terms are related to the potential energy and to the thermal pressure of the crystalline phase in a coherent way, which leads to simpler and non diverging series expansions for the thermal pressure and thermal energy of the fluid system. Data for solid and fluid argon are used to illustrate the potential of the present approach.     

The Glass Transition of Water and Aqueous Systems

After a brief introduction of the terms supercooling, amorphous solid state, glass transition and devitrification, the known ways of production of amorphous solid water are discussed. DSC experiments with quench cooled aqueous solutions show the phenomenon of glass transition and devitrification.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The infrared spectra of amorphous solid water and ice Ic between 10 and 140 K

Absorption spectra from 4000 to 1200 cm^?1 of amorphous solid water and polycrystalline ice I_c have been measured between 10 K and 140 K. Warm up and recooling of an H₂O sample prepared at 10 K gives rise to both irreversible and reversible changes in the peak frequency, band width, and peak height as well as the integrated intensity of the OH stretching band. These spectral effects are related to structural differences. The structure of amorphous solid water also depends on deposition conditions. The optical constants of amorphous so water are determined at 10 K and 80 K from a Kramers-Kronig analysis of the transmission spectra taking into account reflection and interference losses. The astrophysical implication of the temperature dependence of peak frequency and band width of the 3250 cm^?1 band in amorphous solid water is discussed briefly.     

Magnetic orientation of diamagnetic amorphous polymers

Molecular order in an amorphous polymer with anisotropic magnetic susceptibility is altered by applying external magnetic fields. Disks of atactic polystyrene (a‐PS) are prepared by solvent casting outside or inside a magnet. The effect of the magnetic field on the polymer samples is investigated by magnetic levitation and solid state NMR spectroscopy. Magnetic levitation of the a‐PS disks shows that the orientation of disk symmetry axis with respect to the magnetic field gradient depends on the magnitude and direction of the applied field during casting. Similarly, carbon‐13 two‐dimensional cross‐polarization/magic angle spinning rotor‐synchronized NMR measurements in these samples show modulation patterns of the spinning side bands only on disks prepared in the presence of a magnetic field. These findings suggest that macromolecular order could be induced in a fluid or fluid–solid phase transition with cooperative segmental motions reorienting the diamagnetic susceptibility tensor to minimize the magnetic contribution to free energy of the sample. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 1009–1015, 2010     

钠硼解石——水体系溶解和相平衡的研究(英)

Ulexite dissolution in water has been studied in the wide temperature range from 10℃ to 93℃ and two higher temperatures at 120 ℃ and 240 ℃. The analytical results showed that ulexite dissolved congruently from 10 ℃ to 35 ℃ and incongruently from 40 to 68 ℃. The solid component of ulexite, NaCaB₅O₆(OH)₆·5H₂O was dehydrated to form NaCaB₅O₆(OH)₆·H₂O from 50 to 68 ℃ and finally amorphous solid at 68 ℃. This amorphous solid converted into priceite at 71 ℃ and then converted completely to priceite at the boiling point(93℃) of the solution. At both 120 and 240 ℃, the dissolution of ulexite was an incongruent process. Above 120 ℃, ulexite became amorphous solid and then transformed into priceite. In addition to the solid to solid transformation, crystallization of priceite from the solution has also been observed. Based on our experimental results, mechanisms of dissolution, transformation, and crystallization of borate in ulexite-water system are discussed.     

On the role of frustration on the glass transition and polyamorphism of mesoscopically heterophase liquids

The model of heterophase fluctuations is developed accounting frustration of the mesoscopic solidlike fluctuons. Within the framework of this model, the glass transition and polyamorphous transformations are considered. It is shown that the frustration increases the temperature range in which the heterophase liquid state exists. the upper and lower boundaries of this temperature range are determined. These boundaries separate different phase states-amorphous solid, heterophase liquid, and fluid phases. Polyamorphous liquid-liquid transitions in the liquid are investigated. Frustration can call forth continuous fluid-solid phase transformation avoiding the first- or second-order phase transition. Conditions under which the first-order phase transition fraction takes place are formulated. Two scenarios of the first-order liquid-liquid polyamorphous transformation are described. As an example the glacial phase formation and the first-order liquid-liquid phase transition in triphenyl phosphate are considered and discussed. Impact of frustration on the liquid crystallization and crystallinity of the glassy state is studied.     

Micro- to macroscopic observations of MnAlPO-5 nanocrystal growth in ionic-liquid media

Micro‐ and macroscopic studies of nucleation and growth processes of MnAlPO‐5 nanosized crystals under ionothermal synthesis conditions are reported herein. The samples treated at 150 °C were extracted from the reaction mixture at various stages of crystallization, and characterized by XRD; SEM; thermogravimetric analysis (TGA); ³¹P and ²⁷Al solid‐state magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR, Raman, UV/Vis, and X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). The starting raw materials (alumina, manganese, and phosphorous) were dissolved completely in the ionic liquid and transformed into an amorphous solid after 5 h of ionothermal treatment. This amorphous solid then undergoes structural changes over the following 5–25 h, which result in an intermediate phase that consists of octahedral Al species linked to the manganese and phosphate species. The first MnAlPO‐5 nuclei on the surface of the intermediate can be observed after 50 h ionoheating. These nuclei further grow, as the surface of the intermediate is in full contact with the ionic liquid, to give crystalline MnAlPO‐5 nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 80 nm. The crystals become fully detached from the intermediate and are then liberated as discrete particles after 90 h heating. The transformation process from amorphous to intermediate and then to the crystalline MnAlPO‐5 nanoparticles shows that nucleation starts at the solid–liquid interface and continues through surface‐to‐core reversed‐growth until the entire amorphous solid is transformed into discrete nanocrystals.     

Fluoride sorption and associated aluminum release in variable charge soils

Fluoride sorption and related aluminum (Al) release are evaluated in two iron-oxide-rich soils as a function of soil depth, composition, and physical-chemical properties and potential mechanisms of fluoride-surface interaction are suggested. Measured Al concentrations at equilibrium fluoride sorption, reflective of the net balance between Al dissolution and sequestration of the released Al by the solid phase, suggest net fluoride-assisted dissolution of Al-bearing amorphous and crystalline soil minerals. Strikingly, soils of similar depth and horizonation from the same soil order but of distinct soil series exhibited markedly different susceptibility to Al loss in the presence of fluoride, possibly a combined result of differences in the mechanism of fluoride sorption, soil mineralogy, reactivity of the surficial Al and Fe, and soil solution chemistry. Fluoride sorption is strongly correlated with soil Al and Fe present as high-surface-area amorphous and crystalline oxide phases. Fluoride complexation to surficial Al and Fe ions via ligand exchange with surficial OH groups and water molecules appears to be the dominant sorption mechanism. At high dissolved fluoride concentrations (>7 mM), other mechanisms of fluoride retention including adsorption of AlF solution complexes, entrapment in the interparticle pore fluid, and precipitation into solution and/or onto the soil surface are also likely.     

铝厂污泥在不同煅烧温度的晶相结构研究

铝厂污泥主要成分是-AlOOH,其中部分是晶体,部分是无定形体。将此污泥分别于450,600,800,1000,1050,1200和1300 ℃进行了煅烧,探讨污泥在不同温度下的晶相变化,为污泥的综合利用提供可靠的数据。采用XRD法和SEM法表征了污泥在不同温度下的晶相结构和显微结构。实验结果表明:随着煅烧温度的提高,污泥发生如下变化过程: 这与常规转化规律不同。在450,600,800,1000和1100 ℃的试样中均形成了-Al2O3和无定形体结构的微晶,随着温度的升高,-Al2O3含量增加而无定形体结构的微晶含量降低。当煅烧温度上升至1200和1300 ℃时, - Al2O3和无定形体结构的微晶全部转变为 - Al2O3。 -Al2O3是介稳态,高活性,-Al2O3是稳定态,低能态。     

In Situ Microscopic Observation of the Crystallization Process of Molecular Microparticles by Fluorescence Switching

To clearly understand the solid‐state amorphous‐to‐crystalline transformation is a long‐standing challenge because such crystallization occuring in confined environments is difficult to observe directly. We developed an in situ and real‐time imaging procedure to record the interface evolution in a solid‐state crystallization of molecular amorphous particles. The method, by employing a tetra‐substituted ethene with novel morphology‐dependent fluorescence, which can distinguish the interfaces between the crystalline and amorphous phase by fluorescence color, is a simple and practical method to probe the inner process of a molecular microparticle. The crystallization of amorphous microparticles in different cases was clearly recorded, where the perfect microparticles and those with defects demonstrate diverse destinies. The details disclosed in this observation will deepen the understanding for a series of solid‐state crystallization that we know little about before.     

10.1007/s10973-006-8228-4

The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy HRTEM study of the atomic scale mechanism of crystal structure organization within the amorphous polymeric structure of the model multicomponent glass TiO₂–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂– in the glass transformation temperature range has been undertaken. In the glass transition (T _g) temperature range, glass transforms from the solid of rigid amorphous structure into viscoelastic state of weakened chemical bonds. This is an example of nuclei formation and crystal growth in the polymeric amorphous structure of low atomic scale homogeneity due to middle range ordering. It has been demonstrated that in this case crystal structure formation proceeds by successive displacement and local ordering of atoms in the amorphous structure, like disorder-order transformation in crystalline solid bodies. As the consequence in the crystallization by parent structure reorganization mechanism, traditional model of glass crystallization as well as kinetic models of reactions in solid bodies according Avrami or others, are worthy to be revised.     

Prediction of the induction period of crystallization of naproxen in solid dispersion using differential scanning calorimetry

The induction period of crystallization of amorphous naproxen in solid dispersion was measured by DSC. Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose acetate succinate LG (HPMCAS-LG) was selected as a polymer of solid dispersion, because of the excellent inhibitory effect of crystallization. Naproxen was chosen as a model drug having poor water solubility and poor physical stability of glassy state. The prediction of crystallization of amorphous naproxen in solid dispersion at the desired storage temperature or the desired polymer content was carried out. If the storage condition satisfied the requirement that was either more than 90% of HPMCAS-LG content at 333 K or below storage temperature of 301 K for 50% HPMCAS-LG content, the induction period of crystallization of naproxen in solid dispersion would be more than 1 year. The storage period of amorphous drug in solid dispersion of desired storage temperature and desired drug content might be predictable from measurement data of induction period of crystallization.     

Computational study of the melting-freezing transition in the quantum hard-sphere system for intermediate densities. II. Structural features

The structural features of the quantum hard-sphere system in the region of the fluid-face-centered-cubic-solid transition, for reduced number densities 0.45相似文献   

Surface segregation of dissolved salt ions

Surface segregation of iodide, but not of fluoride or cesium ions, is observed by a combination of metastable impact electron spectroscopy (MIES) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS(HeI)) of amorphous solid water exposed to CsI or CsF vapor. The same surface ionic behavior is also derived from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the corresponding aqueous salt solutions. The MIES results show the propensity of iodide, but not fluoride, for the surface of the amorphous solid water film, providing thus strong evidence for the suggested presence of heavier halides (iodide, bromide, and to a lesser extent chloride) at the topmost layer of aqueous surfaces. In contrast, no appreciable surface segregation of ions is observed in methanol, neither in the experiment nor in the simulation. Furthermore, the present results indicate that, as far as the thermodynamic aspects of solvation of alkali halides are concerned, amorphous solid water and methanol surfaces behave similarly as surfaces of the corresponding liquids.     

以脲和硫脲为主体的高分子固体电解质的研究

研制了一种以脲和硫脲为主体的固体电解质,其室温电导率可达到6.84×10^-3S·cm^-1,分析了影响该电解质电导率的因素.初步确定该物质为一种不定型固熔体,导电机理是硫脲转化为硫氰酸铵,硫氰酸铵电离导电.     

Exploring the conformational energy landscape of glassy disaccharides by cross polarization magic angle spinning 13C nuclear magnetic resonance and numerical simulations. II. Enhanced molecular flexibility in amorphous trehalose

This paper uses chemical shift surfaces to simulate experimental (13)C cross polarization magic angle spinning spectra for amorphous solid state disaccharides, paying particular attention to the glycosidic linkage atoms in trehalose, sucrose, and lactose. The combination of molecular mechanics with density functional theory/gauge invariant atomic orbital ab initio methods provides reliable structural information on the conformational distribution in the glass. The results are interpreted in terms of an enhanced flexibility that trehalose possesses in the amorphous solid state, at least on the time scale of (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance measurements. Implications of these findings for the fragility of trehalose glass and bioprotectant action are discussed.     

Mechanical Alloying of Metal–Organic Frameworks

The solvent‐free mechanical milling process for two distinct metal–organic framework (MOF) crystals induced the formation of a solid solution, which is not feasible by conventional solution‐based syntheses. X‐ray and STEM‐EDX studies revealed that performing mechanical milling under an Ar atmosphere promotes the high diffusivity of each metal ion in an amorphous solid matrix; the amorphous state turns into the porous crystalline structure by vapor exposure treatment to form a new phase of a MOF solid solution.     

Phase diagram of water between hydrophobic surfaces

Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate that there are at least two classes of quasi-two-dimensional solid water into which liquid water confined between hydrophobic surfaces freezes spontaneously and whose hydrogen-bond networks are as fully connected as those of bulk ice. One of them is the monolayer ice and the other is the bilayer solid which takes either a crystalline or an amorphous form. Here we present the phase transformations among liquid, bilayer amorphous (or crystalline) ice, and monolayer ice phases at various thermodynamic conditions, then determine curves of melting, freezing, and solid-solid structural change on the isostress planes where temperature and intersurface distance are variable, and finally we propose a phase diagram of the confined water in the temperature-pressure-distance space.     

Synthesis and Structural Studies of Porous Organobridged Silicate Amorphous Powder

Novel amorphous organobridged polysilsesquioxane porous powders have been prepared via hydrolytic precipitation from solutions of 1,4-bis(trichlorosilylmethyl)benzene. These new porous materials have been characterized by SEM, nitrogen sorption measurements and solid state 13C and 29Si NMR spectroscopy. The internal structure and porosity of the amorphous materials are correlated to the process conditions.