Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 26, 2025

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level
Published on: September 26, 2016
Ultrafast Dynamics Experienced by Carbon Dioxide Diffusing through Polymer Matrices
Cynthia G Pyles1, Grace M Gretz1, Ivan C Spector1
1University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, 207 Pleasant St. SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454, United States.
Abstract:
Fourier transform infrared, pump-probe polarization anisotropy, and two-dimensional infrared spectroscopies were used to study the steady-state and time-dependent behavior of carbon dioxide dissolved in three different polymer systems. Gas reorientation dynamics in poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(methyl acrylate), and poly(dimethylsiloxane) were sensitive to the nature of chemical interactions between the gas and polymer, as well as whether the polymer was in a glassy or rubbery phase. The homogeneous dynamics experienced by the asymmetric stretching vibration were found to be fastest for rubbery polymers with weak, nonspecific gas-polymer interactions. Spectral diffusion was absent for the carbon dioxide vibrational mode in glassy poly(methyl methacrylate) but was activated for the chemically similar but rubbery poly(methyl acrylate). The vibrational dynamics are shown to have a direct correlation with the diffusivity of carbon dioxide through the polymer matrices.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Behavior of Gas Molecules: Molecular Diffusion, Mean Free Path, and Effusion
Passive Diffusion: Overview and Kinetics
When administered orally, drugs establish a substantial concentration gradient between the gastrointestinal (GI) lumen and the bloodstream, expediting...
Molecular Weight of Step-Growth Polymers
As the step-growth polymerization involves step-wise condensation of monomers, the molecular weight also builds up eventually. Consequently, high molecular weight polymers are obtained at the late stages of the polymerization, where 99% of monomers have been consumed.
The extent of the...
Step-Growth Polymerization: Overview
Many natural and synthetic polymers are produced by...
Radical Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism
Polymers: Molecular Weight Distribution

