Molecular Dynamics and Near-<i>T<sub>g</sub></i> Phenomena of Cyclic Thioethers

oleh: Hubert Hellwig, Andrzej Nowok, Paulina Peksa, Mateusz Dulski, Robert Musioł, Sebastian Pawlus, Piotr Kuś

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-12-01

Deskripsi

This article presents the synthesis and molecular dynamics investigation of three novel cyclic thioethers: 2,3-(4′-methylbenzo)-1,4,7,10-tetrathiacyclododeca-2-ene (compound <b>1</b>), 2,3,14,15-bis(4′,4″(5″)-methylbenzo)-1,4,7,10,13,16,19,22,25-octathiacyclotetracosa-2,14-diene (compound <b>2</b>), and 2,3,8,9-bis(4′,4″(5″)-methylbenzo)-1,4,7,10-tetrathiacyclododeca-2,8-diene (compound <b>3</b>). The compounds exhibit relatively high glass transition temperatures (<i>T<sub>g</sub></i>), which range between 254 and 283 K. This characteristic positions them within the so-far limited category of crown-like glass-formers. We demonstrate that cyclic thioethers may span both the realms of ordinary and sizeable molecular glass-formers, each featuring distinct physical properties. Furthermore, we show that the <i>T<sub>g</sub></i> follows a sublinear power law as a function of the molar mass within this class of compounds. We also reveal multiple dielectric relaxation processes of the novel cyclic thioethers. Above the <i>T<sub>g</sub></i>, their dielectric loss spectra are dominated by a structural relaxation, which originates from the cooperative reorientation of entire molecules and exhibits an excess wing on its high-frequency slope. This feature has been attributed to the Johari–Goldstein (JG) process. Each investigated compound exhibits also at least one intramolecular secondary non-JG relaxation stemming from conformational changes. Their activation energies range from approximately 19 kJ/mol to roughly 40 kJ/mol. Finally, we analyze the high-pressure molecular dynamics of compound <b>1</b>, revealing a pressure-induced increase in its <i>T<sub>g</sub></i> with a <i>dT<sub>g</sub></i>/<i>dp</i> coefficient equal to 197 ± 8 K/GPa.