Role of hydrogen bonding in hysteresis observed in sorption-induced swelling of soft nanoporous polymers.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30158573.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-018-05897-9 and PMC identifier 6115358.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Hysteresis is observed in sorption-induced swelling in various soft nanoporous polymers. The associated coupling mechanism responsible for the observed sorption-induced swelling and associated hysteresis needs to be unraveled. Here we report a microscopic scenario for the molecular mechanism responsible for hysteresis in sorption-induced swelling in natural polymers such as cellulose using atom-scale simulation; moisture content and swelling exhibit hysteresis upon ad- and desorption but not swelling versus moisture content. Different hydrogen bond networks are examined; cellulose swells to form water-cellulose bonds upon adsorption but these bonds do not break upon desorption at the same chemical potential. These findings, which are supported by mechanical testing and cellulose textural assessment upon sorption, shed light on experimental observations for wood and other related materials.