Beyond nothingness in the formation and functional relevance of voids in polymer films

Falon C. Kalutantirige, Jinlong He, Lehan Yao, Stephen Cotty, Shan Zhou, John W. Smith, Emad Tajkhorshid, Charles M. Schroeder, Jeffrey S. Moore, Hyosung An, Xiao Su, Ying Li () and Qian Chen ()
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Falon C. Kalutantirige: University of Illinois
Jinlong He: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Lehan Yao: University of Illinois
Stephen Cotty: University of Illinois
Shan Zhou: University of Illinois
John W. Smith: University of Illinois
Emad Tajkhorshid: University of Illinois
Charles M. Schroeder: University of Illinois
Jeffrey S. Moore: University of Illinois
Hyosung An: Chonnam National University
Xiao Su: University of Illinois
Ying Li: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Qian Chen: University of Illinois

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Abstract Voids—the nothingness—broadly exist within nanomaterials and impact properties ranging from catalysis to mechanical response. However, understanding nanovoids is challenging due to lack of imaging methods with the needed penetration depth and spatial resolution. Here, we integrate electron tomography, morphometry, graph theory and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation to study the formation of interconnected nanovoids in polymer films and their impacts on permeance and nanomechanical behaviour. Using polyamide membranes for molecular separation as a representative system, three-dimensional electron tomography at nanometre resolution reveals nanovoid formation from coalescence of oligomers, supported by coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. Void analysis provides otherwise inaccessible inputs for accurate fittings of methanol permeance for polyamide membranes. Three-dimensional structural graphs accounting for the tortuous nanovoids within, measure higher apparent moduli with polyamide membranes of higher graph rigidity. Our study elucidates the significance of nanovoids beyond the nothingness, impacting the synthesis‒morphology‒function relationships of complex nanomaterials.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46584-2

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