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Diffusion

Diffusion

Diffusion is a type of passive transport. In passive transport, a substance tends to move from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration until the concentration is equal across the space. For example, take the diffusion of substances through the air. When someone opens a perfume bottle in a room filled with people, the perfume is at its highest concentration in the bottle and is at its lowest at the edges of the room. The perfume vapor will diffuse, or spread away, from the...

Diffusion

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 7, 2026

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level

Published on: September 26, 2016

Diffusion of small particles in a solid polymeric medium.

F Camboni¹, A Koher, I M Sokolov

¹Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstr. 15, D-12489 Berlin, Germany.

Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics

|September 17, 2013

Summary

Particle diffusion in polymers is modeled on a lattice, considering particle-polymer interactions. Results show complex diffusion behaviors and temperature dependencies influenced by interaction strength and lattice structure.

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Last Updated: May 7, 2026

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level

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The Diffusion of Passive Tracers in Laminar Shear Flow

The Diffusion of Passive Tracers in Laminar Shear Flow

Published on: May 1, 2018

Area of Science:

Polymer Physics
Materials Science
Statistical Mechanics

Background:

Understanding particle diffusion in solid polymeric media is crucial for material properties.
Short-range particle-polymer interactions significantly influence diffusion dynamics.
Lattice models provide a framework for simulating complex diffusion phenomena.

Purpose of the Study:

To analyze the diffusion of small particles within a solid polymeric medium.
To investigate the impact of short-range particle-polymer interactions on diffusion.
To model particle diffusion using a ternary lattice approach.

Main Methods:

Modeling particle diffusion on a ternary lattice with blocked polymer segments, interaction sites (hulls), and free voids.
Analyzing diffusion coefficient dependence on polymer chain length and temperature.
Employing effective medium approximation for analytical solutions.
Comparing analytical results with Monte Carlo simulations.

Main Results:

In the absence of interaction, diffusion coefficient shows weak dependence on polymer length, similar to site percolation.
Interactions introduce nontrivial diffusion behavior and temperature dependence.
Temperature dependence can be Arrhenius-like or strongly non-Arrhenius based on parameters.
Percolation of voids and chain hulls critically affects diffusion.

Conclusions:

Particle-polymer interactions introduce complex, parameter-dependent diffusion behaviors.
The ternary lattice model effectively captures diffusion dynamics in polymeric media.
Effective medium approximation provides a good qualitative agreement with simulation results.
This study offers insights into factors governing diffusion in polymer systems.