{"title":"Multicolor Emissive Hyperbranched Polysilicophosphate Ester from n-π Interaction and Concentrated Negative Electrostatic Potential-Enhanced Spatial Electronic Communication","authors":"Lihua Bai, Xiaoqian Ge, Shunsheng Zhao, Hui Yang, Juanmin Li, Hongxia Yan, Xiangrong Liu","doi":"10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02791","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02791","url":null,"abstract":"Unconventional fluorescent polymers have attracted wide attention due to their excellent biocompatibility, facile preparation, and unique fluorescent properties. However, developing high-performance polymers and revealing the emission mechanism are still challenging. Herein, to explore the relationship between chemical structures and fluorescent properties, four hyperbranched poly(silicophosphate) esters (HSiP0-HSiP3) were prepared. Increasing the P═O(O)<sub>3</sub>:Si(O)<sub>3</sub> ratios generated enhanced red fluorescence. Experimental and theoretical calculation results showed that the enhanced n-π interactions between P═O and the O/N atoms promoted the concentration of negative electrostatic potential and enhanced spatial electronic communications, and then decreased the energy gap and generated strong red emission. Meanwhile, the cluster of functional groups attracted a negative charge of isolated functional groups, which further enhanced the fluorescence. Additionally, these polymers showed excellent potential in bacterial imaging and information encryption. Thus, this work provides an efficient method for developing long-wavelength materials while providing new insights into the emission origin.","PeriodicalId":51,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecules","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142940460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MacromoleculesPub Date : 2025-01-10DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02541
Arman Moussavi, William Marshall, Sanat K. Kumar, Sinan Keten
{"title":"Two Channel Description of Gas Permeability in Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticle Membranes","authors":"Arman Moussavi, William Marshall, Sanat K. Kumar, Sinan Keten","doi":"10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02541","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02541","url":null,"abstract":"Recent work has demonstrated that polymer-grafted nanoparticle (PGN) melts are spatially heterogeneous media with tunable gas transport properties. In particular, it is thought that the region near the nanoparticle (NP) surface, where the grafted chains are stretched due to crowding effects, as well as the interstitial regions within the NP packing, exhibit distinct transport behaviors. Based on these notions, this work proposes an analytical two channel model with a high-barrier channel akin to the pure polymer melt, and a low-barrier channel with zero activation energy. The model, developed with these simplifying assumptions, has one parameter, the fractional occupancy of the high-barrier channel, which is fit to gas permeability data as a function of chain molecular weight and gas type. Gases as big as CO<sub>2</sub> are present in both channels, while all larger gases primarily occupy the ”high-barrier” channel. Since the model does not distinguish between solubility and diffusivity, it is concluded that the results found for the larger gases are consistent with the experimental findings showing that they have increased solubility within the interstitial spaces of the PGN structure. Similarly, the low channel corresponds to the stretched polymer brush with fast transport for all gases. Despite their higher fractional occupancy in the high-barrier channel, large gases also preferably transport through the low-barrier channel. The distinctions in energy barriers between the two channels manifest through a critical gas size beyond which the model’s effective energy barrier becomes gas size-independent. This highlights the bilinear nature of gas transport in PGNs which results from their heterogeneous spatial structure.","PeriodicalId":51,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecules","volume":"75 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142940459","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MacromoleculesPub Date : 2025-01-10DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.4c0254110.1021/acs.macromol.4c02541
Arman Moussavi, William Marshall, Sanat K. Kumar* and Sinan Keten*,
{"title":"Two Channel Description of Gas Permeability in Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticle Membranes","authors":"Arman Moussavi, William Marshall, Sanat K. Kumar* and Sinan Keten*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.macromol.4c0254110.1021/acs.macromol.4c02541","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02541https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02541","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Recent work has demonstrated that polymer-grafted nanoparticle (PGN) melts are spatially heterogeneous media with tunable gas transport properties. In particular, it is thought that the region near the nanoparticle (NP) surface, where the grafted chains are stretched due to crowding effects, as well as the interstitial regions within the NP packing, exhibit distinct transport behaviors. Based on these notions, this work proposes an analytical two channel model with a high-barrier channel akin to the pure polymer melt, and a low-barrier channel with zero activation energy. The model, developed with these simplifying assumptions, has one parameter, the fractional occupancy of the high-barrier channel, which is fit to gas permeability data as a function of chain molecular weight and gas type. Gases as big as CO<sub>2</sub> are present in both channels, while all larger gases primarily occupy the ”high-barrier” channel. Since the model does not distinguish between solubility and diffusivity, it is concluded that the results found for the larger gases are consistent with the experimental findings showing that they have increased solubility within the interstitial spaces of the PGN structure. Similarly, the low channel corresponds to the stretched polymer brush with fast transport for all gases. Despite their higher fractional occupancy in the high-barrier channel, large gases also preferably transport through the low-barrier channel. The distinctions in energy barriers between the two channels manifest through a critical gas size beyond which the model’s effective energy barrier becomes gas size-independent. This highlights the bilinear nature of gas transport in PGNs which results from their heterogeneous spatial structure.</p>","PeriodicalId":51,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecules","volume":"58 2","pages":"827–835 827–835"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143088024","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MacromoleculesPub Date : 2025-01-10DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.4c0279110.1021/acs.macromol.4c02791
Lihua Bai*, Xiaoqian Ge, Shunsheng Zhao, Hui Yang, Juanmin Li, Hongxia Yan and Xiangrong Liu*,
{"title":"Multicolor Emissive Hyperbranched Polysilicophosphate Ester from n-π Interaction and Concentrated Negative Electrostatic Potential-Enhanced Spatial Electronic Communication","authors":"Lihua Bai*, Xiaoqian Ge, Shunsheng Zhao, Hui Yang, Juanmin Li, Hongxia Yan and Xiangrong Liu*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.macromol.4c0279110.1021/acs.macromol.4c02791","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02791https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02791","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Unconventional fluorescent polymers have attracted wide attention due to their excellent biocompatibility, facile preparation, and unique fluorescent properties. However, developing high-performance polymers and revealing the emission mechanism are still challenging. Herein, to explore the relationship between chemical structures and fluorescent properties, four hyperbranched poly(silicophosphate) esters (HSiP0-HSiP3) were prepared. Increasing the P═O(O)<sub>3</sub>:Si(O)<sub>3</sub> ratios generated enhanced red fluorescence. Experimental and theoretical calculation results showed that the enhanced n-π interactions between P═O and the O/N atoms promoted the concentration of negative electrostatic potential and enhanced spatial electronic communications, and then decreased the energy gap and generated strong red emission. Meanwhile, the cluster of functional groups attracted a negative charge of isolated functional groups, which further enhanced the fluorescence. Additionally, these polymers showed excellent potential in bacterial imaging and information encryption. Thus, this work provides an efficient method for developing long-wavelength materials while providing new insights into the emission origin.</p>","PeriodicalId":51,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecules","volume":"58 2","pages":"1038–1047 1038–1047"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143088029","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MacromoleculesPub Date : 2025-01-09DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.4c0225810.1021/acs.macromol.4c02258
Jin Peng, Haixu Wang, Shusheng Chen*, Weifeng Liu* and Xueqing Qiu,
{"title":"Mechanically Robust, Reprocessable, and Light-Controlled Healable Solvent-Free Lignin-Containing Polyurethane Elastomers Based on Dynamic Phenol-Carbamate Network","authors":"Jin Peng, Haixu Wang, Shusheng Chen*, Weifeng Liu* and Xueqing Qiu, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.macromol.4c0225810.1021/acs.macromol.4c02258","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02258https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02258","url":null,"abstract":"<p >In this study, we introduce an innovative one-step, solvent-free approach for preparing lignin-containing polyurethane elastomers (LPUes) with nanomicro phase-separated structure and dynamic dual-cross-linking networks comprising both phenol-carbamate bonds (PCBs) and hydrogen bonds. This distinctive structural design imparted exceptional mechanical properties to the LPUes. The sample containing 22.9 wt % phenolized lignin exhibited tensile strength of 44.6 MPa, elongation at break of 714.6%, and toughness of 148.0 MJ/m<sup>3</sup>. The abundance of dynamic PCBs also conferred remarkable reprocessing capabilities, with these LPUes retaining over 98% for tensile strength and 94.4% for toughness after two hot-pressing cycles. Moreover, the incorporation of lignin endowed the LPUes with photothermal properties, facilitating efficient light-controlled self-healing and shape-memory functionalities. This work offers an innovative pathway to harmonize the mechanical properties and thermal adaptability in the development of sustainable and high-performance LPUes, thereby opening their avenues for diverse potential applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":51,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecules","volume":"58 2","pages":"836–854 836–854"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143091331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nanoscale Structural Heterogeneity in Inter- and Intrachain Entangled Polymer Networks Probed Using the Random Barrier Model","authors":"Hyeyoung Joung, Dongho Kang, Jaesang Yu, Inyoung Cho, Soohyun Lee, Keewook Paeng, Jaesung Yang","doi":"10.1021/acs.macromol.4c01447","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.4c01447","url":null,"abstract":"The previously reported Brownian yet non-Gaussian diffusion of small-molecule probes in solvent-swollen poly(methyl methacrylate) films composed of inter- and intrachain entangled networks is further examined to gain in-depth insight into chain-conformation-dependent structural heterogeneity in polymer networks. The characteristic length scale obtained from the non-Gaussian tails of van Hove distributions is shown to spread as the square root of the lag time regardless of the film and its swelling degree, which indicates that anomalous long-distance probe hopping in both networks is primarily driven by the heterogeneity of the network structure. The random barrier model is used to examine the probability distribution of retention time between consecutive hopping events as a function of threshold displacement, and an appropriately chosen threshold displacement identifies the length scale of the region wherein probe motion can be Brownian within structurally heterogeneous entangled networks. The average energy of barriers with structural origins in local regions with excessive chain density has an insignificant network dependence; however, the barrier density in the intrachain entangled network exceeds that in the interchain one because of the greater structural heterogeneity of the former, limiting the size of the region of Brownian motion.","PeriodicalId":51,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecules","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142937794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MacromoleculesPub Date : 2025-01-09DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02392
Ashis Mukhopadhyay
{"title":"Nanorheology of a Reconstituted Mucin Gel","authors":"Ashis Mukhopadhyay","doi":"10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02392","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02392","url":null,"abstract":"I present results of diffusion nanospheres with a wide range of sizes (<i>d</i>) from 30 to 200 nm and nanorods of aspect ratio (≈3.5) within a model synthetic mucin gel possessing physiological and viscoelastic properties similar to lung mucus. The technique of two-photon fluorescence correlation spectroscopy was used, which provides high temporal resolution so that rotational dynamics of anisotropic particles occurring faster than milliseconds time scale can also be interrogated. The particle sizes in these experiments are smaller compared to mesh size (<i>a</i><sub><i>x</i></sub>) in the gel, and thus, their motion is sensitive to nanoscale heterogeneity, segmental dynamics, and interstitial fluid properties. The particles of sizes 100 and 200 nm exhibited anomalous subdiffusion with an exponent ≈0.5, which is a manifestation of coupling of particle motion with local Rouse dynamics. The smaller spheres (30 and 50 nm) experience near normal diffusion but experience an effective viscosity that is proportional to the area of the particles. It can be explained by the presence of unreacted mucin within pores, which forms a semidilute solution with the associated correlation length, ξ < <i>d</i>. For nanorods of size 10 nm (<i>d</i>) × 38 nm (<i>L</i>), the rotational diffusion is slowed down more significantly compared to translational diffusion. The analysis indicated that translation is dominated by motion along the long axis of the rod when <i>d</i> < ξ, while the reduction of rotational motion is comparable to the slowdown of spheres with size equivalent to the length of the rod (<i>L</i> > ξ). The estimation of the first passage time distribution function for a model mucus layer of thickness 50 μm showed that subdiffusion can strongly affect the large length-scale transport of NPs.","PeriodicalId":51,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecules","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142940462","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MacromoleculesPub Date : 2025-01-09DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02482
Bo Liu, Pengwu Xu, Deyu Niu, Gerrit Gobius du Sart, Yaoqi Shi, Kees Joziasse, Yuxiang Zhou, Ye Ma, Weijun Yang, Xu Zhang, Tianxi Liu, Piming Ma
{"title":"Superior Ductile and Barrier PLA/PGA Films by an In Situ Constructing Transversely Isotropic Network and Well-Ordered Crystalline Nanolayers","authors":"Bo Liu, Pengwu Xu, Deyu Niu, Gerrit Gobius du Sart, Yaoqi Shi, Kees Joziasse, Yuxiang Zhou, Ye Ma, Weijun Yang, Xu Zhang, Tianxi Liu, Piming Ma","doi":"10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02482","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02482","url":null,"abstract":"Simultaneously achieving excellent toughness, transparency, and gas barrier properties is still a challenge for poly(lactic acid) (PLA) films. In this work, we address an effective and scalable strategy based on biaxial stretching to make superior ductile, transparent, and high-barrier PLA films by incorporating polyglycolic acid (PGA) and constructing a transversely isotropic structure in the PLA matrix with numerous nanocrystals and a nanolayer PGA barrier phase. The transversely isotropic structure endowed PLA/PGA films with a robust chain entanglement network, which prevents the formation of densely distributed cohesional entanglement and the physical aging of PLA, allowing the molecular chains of PLA to move sufficiently to exhibit excellent toughness. Consequently, the tensile strength of the PLA/PGA film increased from 67 to 157 MPa while maintaining a high elongation at break (>100%), high transparency (>85%), and high durability, demonstrating excellent comprehensive physical and mechanical properties. Importantly, the <i>in situ</i> constructed nanolayer barrier phase greatly prolongs the diffusion path of gas molecules in the PLA/PGA films, and consequently the oxygen permeability coefficient (<i>P</i><sub>O<sub><b>2</b></sub></sub>) of the PLA/PGA film decreased by almost two orders of magnitude, i.e., from 1.66 × 10<sup>–14</sup> to 7.10 × 10<sup>–16</sup> cm<sup>3</sup>·cm/cm<sup>2</sup>·s·Pa, compared to that of neat PLA, and three orders of magnitude lower than that of the polyethylene film. Therefore, this work contributes a deeper understanding of the structure–property relationship of biaxially oriented PLA-based films and may enable their application in the high-barrier green packaging field.","PeriodicalId":51,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecules","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142937805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
MacromoleculesPub Date : 2025-01-09DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.4c0234310.1021/acs.macromol.4c02343
Yuxuan Pei, Quan Chen*, Yumi Matsumiya and Hiroshi Watanabe*,
{"title":"Nonlinear Relaxation of Unentangled Associative Polymers: Strain-Induced Hardening and Softening","authors":"Yuxuan Pei, Quan Chen*, Yumi Matsumiya and Hiroshi Watanabe*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.macromol.4c0234310.1021/acs.macromol.4c02343","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02343https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.4c02343","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Nonlinear stress relaxation under step strain γ was examined for two types of ionomers, sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) having either zinc (Zn) or sodium (Na) as the counter-cation. These SPS samples were of low molecular weight (<i>M</i><sub>w</sub> = 11 kg mol<sup>–1</sup>) and in the unentangled state by themselves but had, on average, two associating salt groups (stickers) <i>per</i> chain thereby forming a transient network sustained by aggregates of those stickers. The thermal dissociation of the stickers from those aggregates was much slower than the intrinsic Rouse motion of the chain backbone between the stickers because of a large energy required for the stickers to escape from their aggregates. Thus, for both SPS-Zn and SPS-Na ionomers, the terminal relaxation was much slower than the intrinsic Rouse relaxation. For small γ (=0.5) in the linear viscoelastic regime, this terminal relaxation was almost single-Maxwellian, possibly because the ionomer backbone had only two stickers (on average) and the dissociation of one sticker allowed the whole backbone to relax. For large γ (still below 2), both SPS-Zn and SPS-Na ionomers exhibited strain-hardening at short times <i>t</i> followed by a fast modulus decay and the strain-softening in the terminal relaxation zone at long <i>t</i>. In this terminal relaxation zone, the nonlinear relaxation modulus <i>G</i>(<i>t</i>,γ) was found to obey the time-strain separability, <i>G</i>(<i>t</i>,γ) = <i>G</i>(<i>t</i>)<i>h</i>(γ) with <i>G</i>(<i>t</i>) and <i>h</i>(γ) being the linear relaxation modulus and the damping function, respectively. These nonlinear features were discussed in relation to strain-induced changes in the associative network structure. The hardening at short <i>t</i> was <i>not</i> attributable to the finite extensible nonlinear elasticity (FENE), because the chain backbone between the stickers was too long to exhibit a significant FENE effect at γ < 2. Instead, the hardening was related to strain-induced enhancement of aggregation of the stickers not involved in large and stable aggregates before imposition of the strain. Correspondingly, the fast stress decay after the hardening was attributed to mechanical rupture of the aggregates formed by those stickers. After this rupture, the transient network sustained by the surviving aggregates would have relaxed through the thermal dissociation of those aggregates. This thermal process should have been very similar to that at equilibrium, which resulted in the time-strain separability of <i>G</i>(<i>t</i>,γ) at long <i>t</i>. These structural arguments of the nonlinearities were in harmony with a double-step reverse strain test as well as a model analysis assuming the mechanical rupture and successive equilibration of the aggregates.</p>","PeriodicalId":51,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecules","volume":"58 2","pages":"953–967 953–967"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143091161","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nanoscale Structural Heterogeneity in Inter- and Intrachain Entangled Polymer Networks Probed Using the Random Barrier Model","authors":"Hyeyoung Joung, Dongho Kang, Jaesang Yu, Inyoung Cho, Soohyun Lee, Keewook Paeng* and Jaesung Yang*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.macromol.4c0144710.1021/acs.macromol.4c01447","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.4c01447https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.4c01447","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The previously reported Brownian yet non-Gaussian diffusion of small-molecule probes in solvent-swollen poly(methyl methacrylate) films composed of inter- and intrachain entangled networks is further examined to gain in-depth insight into chain-conformation-dependent structural heterogeneity in polymer networks. The characteristic length scale obtained from the non-Gaussian tails of van Hove distributions is shown to spread as the square root of the lag time regardless of the film and its swelling degree, which indicates that anomalous long-distance probe hopping in both networks is primarily driven by the heterogeneity of the network structure. The random barrier model is used to examine the probability distribution of retention time between consecutive hopping events as a function of threshold displacement, and an appropriately chosen threshold displacement identifies the length scale of the region wherein probe motion can be Brownian within structurally heterogeneous entangled networks. The average energy of barriers with structural origins in local regions with excessive chain density has an insignificant network dependence; however, the barrier density in the intrachain entangled network exceeds that in the interchain one because of the greater structural heterogeneity of the former, limiting the size of the region of Brownian motion.</p>","PeriodicalId":51,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecules","volume":"58 2","pages":"877–884 877–884"},"PeriodicalIF":5.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143091256","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}