Diffusion Coefficients of Variable-Size Amphiphilic Additives in a Glass-Forming Polyethylene Matrix

Diffusion of additives in polymers is an important issue in the plastics industry since migratory-type molecules are widely used to tune the properties of polymeric composites. Predicting the diffusional behavior of new additives can minimize the need for repetitive experiments. This work presents molecular dynamics simulations at the microsecond time scale and uses the MARTINI force field to estimate self-diffusion coefficients, D, of six monounsaturated amides and their analogs carboxylic acids in polyethylene matrices (PE, MW = 5600 Da). The results are strongly influenced by the glass-forming properties of the PE matrix, which we characterize by three distinct temperatures. The metastability region (T < 325 K), the glass transition temperature (Tg = 256–260 K), and the end of the transition (T ≅ 200 K). Self-diffusion mechanisms are inferred from the results of the dependence of D on the molecular mass of the additive, observing a Rouse-like behavior at high temperatures and deviations from it within the metastability region of the matrix. Interestingly, D values are nonsensitive to the nature of the considered polar head for additives of similar size. The temperature-dependent behavior of D follows, at fixed additive size, a linear Arrhenius pattern at high temperatures and a super Arrhenius trend at lower temperatures, which is well represented with a power law equation as predicted by the Mode Coupling Theory (MCT). We offer a conceptual explanation for the observed super-Arrhenius behavior. This explanation draws on Truhlar and Kohen's interpretation of the available energies at both the initial and the transition states along the diffusion pathway. The matrix's mobility significantly affects solute self-diffusion, yielding equal activation enthalpies for the Arrhenius region or the same power law parameters for the super-Arrhenius regime. Finally, we establish a one-to-one time-equivalence of the self-diffusion processes between CG and all-atom systems for the largest additives and the PE matrix in the high-temperature regime.