A molecular modeling investigation of dilation effects induced by sorbed gas molecules in two glassy polymers is presented. As experimental reference, integral sorption of CO2 and CH4 was measured for polysulfone (PSU) and a polyimide (6FDA-TrMPD, PI4) at 308 K and a pressure of 10 bar. Simultaneously, the gas induced swelling effect was measured with a dilatometer based on a capacitive distance sensor recorded. The experimental evidence of the (on the observed time scale and concentration levels) elastic nature of the gas induced dilation is supported by the dilation and contraction behavior observed in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of respective detailed atomistic packing models. These models were constructed in accordance with gas concentration levels obtained from the experimental sorption results. Quantitative deviations between simulated and measured dilations are discussed as a consequence of an anelastic response of the polymer matrix which is too fast to be resolved in the experiments whose kinetics is dominated by diffusional processes. In the simulation, the initial insertion of penetrant molecules into equilibrated packing models circumvents the slow diffusional process of the experiment and allows a reasonable representation of the dilation process as well as a closer investigation. Our simulation approach reveals a different behavior for PSU and PI4 on the corresponding time scale. Most likely, the different chain mobility of the two polymers is responsible for the respective response to the inserted amount of gas molecules which is discussed in terms of the different chain mobilities of the two polymers.
Atomistic packing models have been created, which help to better understand the experimentally observed swelling behavior of glassy polysulfone and poly (ether sulfone), under CO2 gas pressures up to 50 bar at 308 K. The experimental characterization includes the measurement of the time-dependent volume dilation of the polymer samples after a pressure step and the determination of the corresponding gas concentrations by gravimetric gas-sorption measurements. The models obtained by force-field-based molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics methods allow a detailed atomistic analysis of representative swelling states of polymer/gas systems, with respect to the dilation of the matrix. Also, changes of free volume distribution and backbone mobility are accessible. The behavior of gas molecules in unswollen and swollen polymer matrices is characterized in terms of sorption, diffusion, and plasticization.
According to basic phenomenological models describing the solution-diffusion based mechanism of penetrant diffusion in dense polymers, a connection between the diffusive transport of gas molecules in a polymeric matrix and the molecular mobility of that matrix on a certain length scale is, in principle, established for a long time. However, experimental data directly showing this correlation are rare. The investigation of a series of nanocomposites based on a polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) and a polycarbonate matrix allows a systematic change of the molecular mobility on a local length scale (β-relaxation) and of the corresponding activation energy EA, both determined by broadband dielectric spectroscopy. Independently, activation energies of penetrant diffusion (ED) of these nanocomposites were determined for N2, O2, CO2, and CH4 and a clear linear correlation between the two activation energies was established for the first time.
The interest in (micro)porous systems is greater than ever before with microporous polymers finding application in areas such as gas storage/separation and catalysis. In contrast to the vast majority of publications on microporous polymers seeking ever higher values for surface area or uptake capacity for a particular gas, this work presents a means to render a microporous system responsive to electromagnetic stimuli. The incorporation of a diarylethene (DAE) derivative in the backbone of a polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM) produces a microporous system that exhibits photochromism as proven by UV–vis absorption and NMR studies. In the resulting DAE-PIM, surface area is not a fixed unalterable property but can be influenced by the external and nondestructive stimulus light in a reversible manner. Furthermore, in combination with Matrimid, free-standing membranes can be produced that display light-switchable diffusivity and permeability for carbon dioxide and oxygen. In this way, material scientists are offered the potential to employ only one system that can assume several states with different properties for each.