Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 045502 (2006) [4 pages]Influence of Confinement on the Fragility of Antiplasticized and Pure Polymer FilmsReceived 13 February 2006; revised 1 May 2006; published 27 July 2006 We investigate by molecular dynamics simulation how thin film confinement modifies the fragility of a model glass-forming liquid characterized previously in the bulk. Film confinement is found to reduce the relative fragility of the polymer fluid, leading to effects similar to simulations of the addition of an antiplasticizer additive. A reduction of fragility is not observed for the antiplasticized polymer film. These effects are interpreted in terms of variation in the string (cooperatively moving segments) concentration with film confinement and the addition of antiplasticizing additives. © 2006 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.045502
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.045502
PACS:
61.43.Fs, 64.70.Pf
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