Influence of surface interactions on the dynamics of the glass former ortho-terphenyl confined in nanoporous silica

We present results on investigations of the dynamics of the glass forming ortho-terphenyl (oTP) confined in nanoporous silica. Calorimetry experiments showed that the glass transition temperature of the confined liquid, T_gconf, has a non-trivial pore size dependence and is strongly affected by surface interactions. Fluid-wall interactions introduce gradients of structural relaxation times in the pores. The molecules at the surface of the pores are slowed down compared to those at the center of the pores. We focus here on a pore diameter range (7 σ< d < 12 σ, where σ is the molecular diameter), where a large variety of dynamical behavior were observed. Depending on surface properties of the confined media, T _gconf may be smaller or larger than the bulk one. In a quite attractive matrix with a pore size of around 7 nm, the structural relaxation times gradient is important enough to allow the observation of two glass transitions for the same liquid. Effects of fluid wall interactions on the short time dynamics at high temperature were also investigated by quasielastic neutron scattering. The self and collective motions exhibit well above the bulk melting point the same dependence on fluid-wall interactions as at T_g.     

First inelastic neutron scattering studies on thin free standing polymer films

Intermolecular coupling plays an important role in determining the dynamics and the mobility of polymeric and non-polymeric glass-formers. The breadth of the dispersion is an indicator of the intermolecular coupling strength. The coupling model relates intermolecular coupling through the breadth of the dispersion to the dynamics of bulk glass-formers. When a glass-former is confined in nanometer pores or in thin films and if there is absence of chemical and physical interactions with the wall, intermolecular coupling is reduced, resulting in an increase of mobility. The coupling model is used to account for such changes of relaxation time of 1) ortho-terphenyl and poly(dimethyl siloxane) confined in nanometer pores, 2) polymer thin film confined between two impenetrable walls from Monte Carlo simulation, and 3) polymer film confined by perfectly smooth and purely repulsive potential acting on the repeat units from molecular-dynamics simulation. The model continues to explain the opposite effects observed when there is an increase of intermolecular coupling due to the presence of chemical or physical interaction with the walls.Received: 1 January 2003, Published online: 8 October 2003PACS: 64.70.Pf Glass transitions - 68.60.Bs Mechanical and acoustical properties - 36.20.-r Macromolecules and polymer molecules     

Molecular dynamics of tert-butyl chloride confined in CPG studied by NMR

The molecular dynamics of tert-butyl chloride (TBC) confined to Controlled Pore Glass matrices of 25 and 7.5 nm were investigated by measuring NMR linewidths, lineshapes, and 1H and 2H spin--lattice relaxation times. The behaviour of confined TBC can be explained assuming that the guest molecules form two distinct phases; the surface-affected phase, composed of molecules located at the pore surface, and the bulk-like phase located at the centre of the pores. The bulk-like component of confined TBC, at the temperatures corresponding to the phase III, is characterized by two dynamically different subphases.     

Structure and dynamics of water confined in silica hydrogels: X-ray scattering and dielectric spectroscopy studies

We have used a sol-gel technique to obtain optically transparent hydrogels in which water is confined within a 3D silica matrix. In this work we report X-ray scattering and dielectric spectroscopy measurements on samples having different aging times and compare them with previously obtained results with near-infrared (NIR) absorption spectroscopy. X-ray scattering at room temperature enables to characterize the structure and size of the matrix pores and the non-uniform distribution of water inside the hydrogel. Broad band dielectric spectroscopy in the temperature range 130-280 K enables to study water dynamics. In aged hydrogels two relaxations are clearly evident and show characteristic temperature dependence. The faster relaxation has an Arrhenius behavior in the whole temperature range investigated with an activation enthalpy of approximately 50 kJ/mol; it is attributed to water molecules strongly interacting with the silica matrix. The slower relaxation has a markedly non-Arrhenius behavior which can be fitted with a Vogel-Fulcher-Tamman (VFT) relation with critical temperature of approximately 100 K and activation enthalpies of 35 and 95 kJ/mol at 300 and 170 K respectively; it is attributed to water molecules within the pores that do not interact strongly with the matrix and behave collectively. The VFT temperature dependence of the dielectric relaxation time suggests that this water does not crystallize, in agreement with previous results from NIR spectroscopy.     

Anomalous surface diffusion of water compared to aprotic liquids in nanopores

1H nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion experiments show remarkable differences between water and acetone in contact with microporous glass surfaces containing trace paramagnetic impurities. Analyzed with surface relaxation theory on a model porous system, the data obtained for water show that proton surface diffusion limited by chemical exchange with the bulk phase permits long-range effectively one-dimensional exploration along the pores. This magnetic-field dependence coupled with the anomalous temperature dependence of the relaxation rates permits a direct interpretation in terms of the proton translational diffusion coefficient at the surface of the pores. A universal rescaling applied to these data collected for different pore sizes and on a large variety of frequencies and temperatures, supports this interpretation. The analysis demonstrates that acetone diffuses more slowly, which increases the apparent confinement and results in a two-dimensional model for the molecular dynamics close to surface relaxation sinks. Surface-enhanced water proton diffusion, however, permits the proton to explore a greater spatial extent of the pore, which results in an apparent one-dimensional model for the diffusive motions of the water that dominate nuclear spin relaxation.     

Dynamic NMR investigation of plastic crystals in bulk and confined in porous materials

In this work, the molecular dynamics of four organic compounds confined in silica pores of nominal diameter 6 and 20 nm are studied by high-field (9.4 T) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and the results are discussed with reference to the bulk substances. By using organic compounds forming soft plastic crystals on freezing as adsorbates, damage to the pore structures can be avoided. NMR lineshapes, spin-lattice relaxation times (T ₁), spin-spin relaxation timesT ₂ and diffusivities are reported as a function of temperature. Since the porous grains are much greater than the distance travelled by the molecules during the experiment, intracrystalline NMR parameters were obtained. However, the shortT ₂ (∼1 ms) encountered in both the bulk and confined samples prohibited measurements ofT ₂ and the diffusivity in the low-temperature ordered phases. The confinement in the pores gives rise to substantial changes in the phase behavior and molecular dynamics. Thus, the¹H lineshape observations of the confined samples clearly reveal a narrow-line component superimposed on a broad resonance at temperatures well below the transition point of the bulk material. In the freezing region, the narrow-line component is attributed to the surface layer and the undercooled liquid in the smaller pores that remains unfrozen. In the two-component, low-temperature region, the narrow component corresponds to the surface layer, while the broad component originates from the crystalline phase at the center of the pores.     

Surface effects and dipolar correlations of confined and constrained liquids investigated by NMR relaxation experiments and computer simulations.

Local order and molecular dynamics of liquids near surfaces strongly deviate from the behavior in the bulk. This in particular refers to liquid crystals above the bulk isotropization temperature. Transverse relaxation data of 5CB examined in porous glasses with different pore sizes are reported. A strong pore size effect was found. For the interpretation, a simple diffusion-adsorption computer simulation was carried out. Molecules can diffuse from the isotropic bulk part of the pore fluid to the ordered surface layer and vice versa. The residual dipolar correlation function is characterized by a slowly decaying tail owing to repeated returns of molecules to the surface. At each return the molecular orientation correlation is recovered as far as the surface sites visited have orientations correlated to the initial site. That is, molecular orientation is controlled by the "reorientation mediated by translational displacement" process considered in previous papers.     

Segmental dynamics of poly(methyl phenyl siloxane) confined to nanoporous glasses

The effect of a nanometer confinement on the molecular dynamics of poly(methyl phenyl siloxane) (PMPS) was studied by dielectric spectroscopy (DS), temperature modulated DSC (TMDSC) and neutron scattering (NS). Nanoporous glasses with pore sizes of 2.5–20 nm have been used. DS and TMDSC experiments show that for PMPS in 7.5 nm pores the molecular dynamics is faster than in the bulk which originates from an inherent length scale of the underlying molecular motions. For high temperatures the temperature dependence of the relaxation rates for confined PMPS crosses that of the bulk state. Besides finite states effects also the thermodynamic state of nano-confined PMPS is different from that of the bulk. At a pore size of 5 nm the temperature dependence of the relaxation times changes from a Vogel/Fulcher/Tammann like to an Arrhenius behavior where the activation energy depends on pore size. This is in agreement with the results obtained by NS. The increment of the specific heat capacity at the glass transition depends strongly on pore size and vanishes at a finite length scale between 3 and 5 nm which can be regarded as minimal length scale for glass transition to appear in PMPS.     

Demixing transitions in a binary Gaussian-core fluid confined in narrow slit-like pores

Using a mean-field density functional approach we investigate phase separation transition in a binary mixture of Gaussian-core molecules confined in narrow slit-like pores. We consider pores with repulsive and attractive walls. In the case of fluid confinement in pores with repulsive and non-selective attracting walls, no phase separation in the confined fluid, prior to the bulk separation transition, was observed. However, in the case of pores with the walls selectively attracting fluid particles, we reveal that the separation transition may take place as a two-step process. During the first step the composition change occurs within a few layers adjacent to the pore walls, whereas in the second step, it takes place in the pore interior.     

Changes in dynamical behavior of ionic liquid in silica nano-pores

Dielectric relaxation measurement has been carried out on an ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium hexafluorophosphate, [BMIM][PF₆]) confined in nano-porous silica matrix. Two dielectric relaxation peaks have been observed in the confined ionic liquid (IL) while there is only one relaxation peak for bulk IL. Confinement results in layering of some IL molecules near the pore wall while other molecules, less affected by pore wall interaction, remain in the central core. The two relaxation peaks are assigned to the different dynamical behaviors of the central core and layered IL molecules.     

Probing interfacial dynamics of water in confined nanoporous systems by NMRD

The confined dynamics of water molecules inside a pore involves an intermittence between adsorption steps near the interface and surface diffusion and excursions in the pore network. Depending on the strength of the interaction in the layer(s) close to the surface and the dynamical confinement of the distal bulk liquid, exchange dynamics can vary significantly. The average time spent in the surface proximal region (also called the adsorption layer) between a first entry and a consecutive exit allows estimating the level of ‘nanowettablity’ of water. As shown in several seminal works, NMRD is an efficient experimental method to follow such intermittent dynamics close to an interface. In this paper, the intermittent dynamics of a confined fluid inside nanoporous materials is discussed. Special attention is devoted to the interplay between bulk diffusion, adsorption and surface diffusion on curved pore interfaces. Considering the nano or meso length scale confinement of the pore network, an analytical model for calculating the inter-dipolar spin–lattice relaxation dispersion curves is proposed. In the low-frequency regime (50?KHz–100?MHz), this model is successfully compared with numerical simulations performed using a 3D-off lattice reconstruction of Vycor glass. Comparison with experimental data available in the literature is finally discussed.     

An NMR investigation of naphthalene nanostructures

The molecular mobility of naphthalene molecules in porous silica has been studied over the temperature range 223?K to 363?K using NMR relaxation times T ₂, T ₁ and T _1ρ. The investigations were conducted in silicas with nominal pore diameters of 4?nm, 6?nm, 10?nm, 20?nm and 50?nm. The confined solid behaved in a way that indicated it formed a dual phase system consisting of a solid core in the centre of the pores surrounded by a mobile surface layer. The core naphthalene had the same line width as the bulk. The surface layer exhibited a narrower line of a width that suggested the onset of motional narrowing. This behaviour was characteristic of a plastic crystal phase for naphthalene that does not exist in the bulk. The T ₁ and T _1ρ results were dominated by surface interactions between the confined naphthalene and the pore wall. Magnetization transfer experiments showed that enhanced relaxation occurred throughout the confined material in a time long compared to T ₂ but short compared to T ₁ and T _1ρ. Since the line shape ruled out diffusional motion through the rigid lattice naphthalene core, the magnetization transfer must have occurred via spin diffusion.     

液晶胆甾相中的分子短程关联

向列相液晶的二粒子集团理论被推广应用于研究胆甾相二维模型.手征性分子固定在三维简单立方晶格的格点上,而分子取向限制在二维.理论结果表明,平衡态螺旋波矢依赖于温度的变化,且存在胆甾相到向列相相变.通过考虑分子间短程关联,二粒子集团理论的数值结果较平均场理论更接近Monte Carlo模拟结果.     

Water in porous glasses. A computer simulation study

We report molecular dynamics simulations of water confined in a cylindrical silica pore. The pore geometry and size is similar to that of typical pores in porous Vycor glass. In the present study we focus on the dependence of microscopical structural and dynamical properties on the degree of hydration of the pore. We have performed five simulations of systems between 19 and 96 % hydration. In all cases, water adsorbs strongly on the pore surface, clearly demonstrating the hydrophilic nature of the Vycor surface. Two layers of water molecules are affected strongly by the interactions with the glass surface. With decreasing degree of hydration an increasing volume in the center of the pore is devoid of water molecules. At 96 % hydration the center is a continuous and homogeneous region that has, however, a lower density than bulk water at ambient conditions. A well-pronounced mobility profile exists, where molecules in the center of the pores have substantially higher self diffusion coefficients than molecules on the pore surface. The spectral densities of center of mass and hydrogen atom motion show the signature of confinement for the molecules close to the pore surface, while the spectral densities in the center of the pore are similar to those in bulk water. The molecular dynamics results are in good agreement with recent experiments. Our data indicate that the dependence of experimental data on the level of hydration of the Vycor sample is due to the different relative contribution of molecules adsorbed on the pore surface and bulk-like molecules in the interior of the pore to the experimental averages.     

Temperature dependence of structure and density for D?O confined in MCM-41-S

Using neutron diffraction, we have tracked the temperature dependence of structural properties for heavy water confined in the nanoporous silica matrix MCM-41-S. By observing the correlation peak corresponding to the pore-pore distance, which is determined by the scattering contrast between the silica and the water, we monitored the density of the confined water. Concurrently, we studied the prominent first diffraction peak of D(2)O at ≈ 1.8 ?(-1), which furnishes information on the microscopic arrangement of the water molecules. The data show the presence of a density maximum at ≈ 275 K (± 10 K), a property similar to bulk water, and the occurrence of a density minimum at ≈ 180 K (± 10 K). The prominent diffraction peak of D(2)O is found to shift and sharpen over a wide T range from 200 to 270 K, reflecting structural changes that are strongly correlated with the changes in density. We also observe the continuous formation of external ice, arising from water expelled from the pores while expansion takes place within the pores. An efficient method for monitoring the density of the confined D(2)O using a triple-axis spectrometer is demonstrated.     

Evidence of microphase separation in controlled pore glasses

The phase separation of a mixture of water and isobutyric acid (iBA) confined in the pore space of Controlled Pore Glass (CPG) 10-75 has been studied by ¹H NMR relaxometry and ¹H-pulsed field gradient (PFG) diffusion measurements. For an acid-rich mixture (mass fraction 54 wt% iBA), evidence of a phase separation process in the pores was obtained, which occurs in a temperature window between 32 and 39 °C, as indicated in the PFG data by an anomalous temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient and in the relaxation data by a bi-exponential magnetization decay. The phase separation temperature of the mixture in the pore is slightly lower than in the bulk mixture of the same composition (41 °C) and extends over a finite temperature range. A qualitative model of the phase separation process in the pores is developed, which assumes a temperature-dependent domain-like structure of the liquid below the phase transition temperature and a breakdown of these domains upon reaching the transition temperature.     

Dielectric response of water confined in metal–organic frameworks

Dielectric response of water confined in metal–organic frameworks was investigated in broad temperature range from 140 to 410 K and from 20 Hz to 1 MHz using a capacitance bridge. Several dispersion regions of characteristic shape were found, caused by freezing–melting of adsorbed water molecules, which disappear after a prolonged heating at 410 K. Temperature dependencies of relaxation time of confined water molecules were obtained and are compared to those of water confined in MCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieves.     

On the freezing and structure of hard spheres under spherical confinement

The equation of state and the structure of hard spheres confined in spherical pores have been investigated via molecular dynamics for different pore radii ranging from 5.0 to 10.0?σ, where σ is the particle diameter. The hard boundary is chosen to capture the pure geometric effect of spherical confinement. A discontinuity in the equation of state was observed, indicating the onset of a freezing-like phase transition, which was similar to that of the bulk hard-sphere fluids. The behaviour of confined particles resembles that of the bulk with increase in the pore size, while its deviation from the bulk is found to be larger at the solid-like phase. For the pore radius below 5.0, FCC-like crystal clusters are not formed in spherically confined hard spheres.     

Slow molecular processes in a nematic liquid crystal confined to random porous network formed by aerosil particles

Frequency dispersion measurements of proton spin–lattice relaxation rates (R ₁) of liquid crystal 4-propyl-4′-pentylazoxybenzene in bulk and confined samples (in random porous network of aerosil nano-particles) are reported in isotropic and nematic phases. Significant low-frequency increase in R ₁ in confined samples indicates slow molecular reorientations mediated by translational displacements near the adsorbing porous surface. The resulting dispersion behavior of R ₁ (～ω ^{? p} ) reflects the nature of the random surface (p?=?0.5 for equi-partition of the diffusive modes). The observed temperature-independent exponent in the isotropic phase (p?=?0.34) indicates the abundance of low-wavelength surface modes. Its temperature-dependent higher values in the nematic phase (from 0.59 to 0.65 on cooling), and increased spin–lattice coupling via this mechanism, show progressive onset of longer wavelength modes. A detailed analysis shows the effect of confinement on the order director fluctuations, molecular reorientations, and translational diffusion of the molecules.     

Effect of confinement in nano-porous materials on the solubility of a supercritical gas

By combining Gibbs Ensemble Monte Carlo simulations and density functional theory, we investigate the influence of confinement in a slit-shaped carbon pore on the solubility of a supercritical solute gas in a liquid solvent. In the cases studied here, competing adsorption of the solvent and solute determines whether the solubility is enhanced or suppressed for larger pores. We find that the solubility in the confined system is strongly dependent on pore width, and that molecular packing effects are important for small pore widths. In addition, the solubility decreases on increase in the temperature, as for the bulk mixture, but the rate of decrease is greater in the pore due to a decrease in the partial molar enthalpy of the solute in the pore; this effect becomes greater as pore width is decreased. The solubility is increased on increasing the bulk pressure of the gas in equilibrium with the pore, and obeys Henry's law at lower pressures. However, the Henry constant differs significantly from that for the bulk mixture, and the range of pressure over which Henry's law applies is reduced relative to that for the bulk mixture. The latter observation indicates that solute–solute interactions become more important in the pore than for the bulk at a given bulk pressure. Finally, we note that different authors use different definitions of the solubility in pores, leading to some confusion over the reported phenomenon of ‘oversolubility’. We recommend that solubility be defined as the overall mole fraction of solute in the pores, since it takes into account the increase in density of the solvent in the pores, and avoids ambiguity in the definition of the pore volume.