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Title: Measuring Diffusivity in Supercooled Liquid Nanoscale Films using Inert Gas Permeation: I. Kinetic Model and Scaling Methods

Journal Article · · Journal of Chemical Physics, 133(17):174504-11
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3497654· OSTI ID:1000130

We describe in detail a diffusion model used to simulate inert gas transport through supercooled liquid overlayers. In recent work, the transport of the inert gas has been shown to be an effective probe of the diffusivity of supercooled liquid methanol in the experimentally challenging regime near the glass transition temperature. The model simulations accurately and quantitatively describe the inert gas permeation desorption spectra. The simulation results are used to validate universal scaling relationships between the diffusivity, overlayer thickness, and the temperature ramp rate for isothermal and temperature programmed desorption. From these scaling relationships we derive simple equations from which the diffusivity can be obtained using the peak desorption time or temperature for an isothermal or set of TPD experiments respectively without numerical simulation. The results presented here demonstrate that the permeation of gases through amorphous overlayers has the potential to be a powerful technique to obtain diffusivity data in deeply supercooled liquids.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1000130
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-74222; JCPSA6; 39898; 24694; KC0301020; TRN: US201024%%324
Journal Information:
Journal of Chemical Physics, 133(17):174504-11, Vol. 133, Issue 17; ISSN 0021-9606
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English