Confinement for More Space: A Larger Free Volume and Enhanced Glassy Dynamics of 2-Ethyl-1-hexanol in Nanopores
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Published on: December 2, 2011
Wycliffe K Kipnusu1, Mohamed Elsayed2,3, Wilhelm Kossack1
1Institute of Experimental Physics I, University of Leipzig , Linnéstrasse 5, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
Abstract:
Broadband dielectric spectroscopy and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy are employed to study the molecular dynamics and effective free volume of 2-ethyl-1-hexanol (2E1H) in the bulk state and when confined in unidirectional nanopores with average diameters of 4, 6, and 8 nm. Enhanced α-relaxations with decreasing pore diameters closer to the calorimetric glass-transition temperature (T(g)) correlate with the increase in the effective free volume. This indicates that the glassy dynamics of 2D constrained 2E1H is mainly controlled by density variation.
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