Self-assembly and structural relaxation in a model ionomer melt.
Molecular dynamics simulations are used to understand the self-assembly and structural relaxation in ionomer melts containing less than 10% degree of ionization on the backbone. The self-assembly of charged sites and counterions shows structural ordering and agglomeration with a range of structures that can be achieved by changing the dielectric constant of the medium. The intermediate scattering function shows a decoupling of charge and counterion relaxation at longer length scales for only high dielectric constant and at shorter length scales for all dielectric constants. Overall, the slow structural decay of counterions in the strongly correlated ionomer system closely resembles transport properties of semi-flexible polymers.
Center for Nanophase Material Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA.
Monojoy
M
Goswami
Neutron Data Analysis and Visualization Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA.
Jose M
JM
Borreguero
Center for Nanophase Material Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA.
Bobby G
BG
Sumpter
D005615:Freezing; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D055672:Static Electricity
D011108:Polymers