Influence of thermalization on thermal conduction through molecular junctions: Computational study of PEG oligomers.

J Chem Phys

Department of Chemistry and Chemical Physics Program, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557, USA.

Published: August 2017

AI Article Synopsis

  • The study investigates how thermalization affects heat transfer in molecular junctions, specifically through computational models of polyethylene glycol (PEG) oligomers.
  • It calculates thermalization rates in PEG from 100 K to 600 K and examines thermal conduction at PEG interfaces with gold and other materials, relevant for applications like photothermal therapy using gold nanoparticles.
  • The findings reveal that thermalization significantly influences thermal conduction, with the results helping to determine when different predictive methods, such as Fourier's law or the Landauer approach, are applicable for understanding heat transport in these systems.

Article Abstract

Thermalization in molecular junctions and the extent to which it mediates thermal transport through the junction are explored and illustrated with computational modeling of polyethylene glycol (PEG) oligomer junctions. We calculate rates of thermalization in the PEG oligomers from 100 K to 600 K and thermal conduction through PEG oligomer interfaces between gold and other materials, including water, motivated in part by photothermal applications of gold nanoparticles capped by PEG oligomers in aqueous and cellular environments. Variation of thermalization rates over a range of oligomer lengths and temperatures reveals striking effects of thermalization on thermal conduction through the junction. The calculated thermalization rates help clarify the scope of applicability of approaches that can be used to predict thermal conduction, e.g., where Fourier's law breaks down and where a Landauer approach is suitable. The rates and nature of vibrational energy transport computed for PEG oligomers are compared with available experimental results.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4999411DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

thermal conduction
16
peg oligomers
16
thermalization thermal
8
molecular junctions
8
peg oligomer
8
thermalization rates
8
peg
6
thermal
5
thermalization
5
influence thermalization
4

Similar Publications

Direct Assembly of Grooved Micro/Nanofibrous Aerogel for High-Performance Thermal Insulation via Electrospinning.

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces

January 2025

CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.

Maintaining human body temperature in both high and low-temperature environments is fundamental to human survival, necessitating high-performance thermal insulation materials to prevent heat exchange with the external environment. Currently, most fibrous thermal insulation materials are characterized by large weight, suboptimal thermal insulation, and inferior mechanical and waterproof performance, thereby limiting their effectiveness in providing thermal protection for the human body. In this study, lightweight, waterproof, mechanically robust, and thermal insulating polyamide-imide (PAI) grooved micro/nanofibrous aerogels were efficiently and directly assembled by electrospinning.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The rapid upsurge of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has sparked profound interest in their potential as proton conductors for proton exchange membrane fuel cells. However, proton-conducting behaviors of hydrophobic MOFs remain poorly understood compared with their hydrophilic counterparts, largely due to the absence of a microscopic phase separation structure akin to that found in Nafion membranes. Herein, we demonstrate a strategy for regulating the structures and proton conductivities of MOFs by separately incorporating hydrophobic -C(CF)- group alongside hydrophilic -O- and -SO- groups into organic ligands as linkers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Probing Critical States of Matter on a Digital Quantum Computer.

Phys Rev Lett

December 2024

Quantinuum, 303 S. Technology Court, Broomfield, Colorado 80021, USA.

Although quantum mechanics underpins the microscopic behavior of all materials, its effects are often obscured at the macroscopic level by thermal fluctuations. A notable exception is a zero-temperature phase transition, where scaling laws emerge entirely due to quantum correlations over a diverging length scale. The accurate description of such transitions is challenging for classical simulation methods of quantum systems, and is a natural application space for quantum simulation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The bismuth monolayer has recently been experimentally identified as a novel platform for the investigation of two-dimensional single-element ferroelectric system. Here, we model the potential energy surface of a bismuth monolayer by employing a message-passing neural network and achieve an error smaller than 1.2 meV per atom.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The broader use of botanical pesticides has been limited by shorter residual activity on plants, slower onset of action, and higher costs compared with conventional pesticides. These challenges could be overcome by the development of simple, cost-effective, and long-lasting preventive nanocomposites for botanical pesticides. In this study, we successfully developed a low-cost ethyl cellulose (EC)-based delivery system for the botanical pesticide osthole (OST), designed to provide extended preventive protection against infestations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!