For over a decade, research from the gas permeation community has observed faster physical aging rates with decreasing thickness of free-standing films, termed "accelerated aging". These deviations in the aging rate from bulk behavior occur at film thicknesses of several micrometers, the largest "confinement" length scale ever reported. Here we systematically address various possible causes of this phenomenon from differences in molecular structure, quench depth below T g , experimental technique, sample preparation, and stresses on the film. We demonstrate that the physical aging of the material is strongly dependent on conditions during the formation of the glassy state. Although supported films do not display any film thickness dependence to their aging rate at this large length scale, films quenched in a free-standing state exhibit a strong thickness dependence. We suggest differing quench conditions may impose unintended stresses trapping the glassy films into different states (potential energy minima), dictating the subsequent physical aging rate.

properties. [9,10] While fluorescence has been used extensively to characterize bulk properties of polymers, including glass transition temperature (T g ) [11][12][13] and polymerization conversion, [13] it is particularly well-suited to study polymers at the nanoscale. This is largely due to the fact that fluorescence techniques enable sensitive and location-specific measurements with high resolution.In this review, we focus on the use of both steady-state and transient fluorescence techniques to characterize physical properties of polymers over nanoscale dimensions. This length scale can refer to film thickness in single-component polymer films, interparticle spacing in nanocomposites, domain spacing in phaseseparated block copolymers, and distance from the polymer-polymer interface in multicomponent immiscible blends. Several geometries characterized via fluorescence are shown in Figure 1. Prior to delving into specific contributions, the basic principles and techniques of fluorescence are presented as well as a brief introduction to the behavior of confined polymers. We then present recent advances in fluorescence techniques for polymer physical characterization under confinement with regards to the glass transition temperature, physical aging, mobility and diffusion, and mechanical response. Through this examination of the literature, we illustrate the unique ability of fluorescence to characterize polymers in confined and complex geometries, providing insights into the influences of interfaces and nanostructure on material properties through sensitive, location-specific measurements. We conclude with a view toward future areas of research in which fluorescence has the potential to be impactful. Introduction to FluorescenceWhen a molecule absorbs energy via light, an electron is excited to a higher energy state, returning to the ground state through either radiative or nonradiative deactivation. This electronic excitation and return to the ground state is a combination of three photophysical processes: absorption, luminescence, and nonradiative decay. [33] Fluorescence is a luminescent process in which the excited-state electron returns to the ground state by emitting a photon, i.e., light. As shown in a simplified Jablonski Polymer CharacterizationCharacterization of polymers at the nanometer-length scale has become increasingly important with the growth and expansion of nanotechnology. Due to limitations of sensitivity and specificity that persist with traditional materials characterization techniques, there is a growing need to develop new tools to measure the properties of confined polymer systems. Within the past 20 years, fluorescence characterization techniques have emerged to address this challenge. This review focuses on the employment of fluorescence techniques such as temperature-and time-dependent steady-state intensity, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, and nonradiative energy transfer to study polymer behavior at the nanoscale. Properties discussed include glass transition temperatur...

The recently suggested correspondence between domain dynamics of traffic models and the asymmetric chipping model is reviewed. It is observed that in many cases traffic domains perform the two characteristic dynamical processes of the chipping model, namely chipping and diffusion. This correspondence indicates that jamming in traffic models in which all dynamical rates are non-deterministic takes place as a broad crossover phenomenon, rather than a sharp transition. Two traffic models are studied in detail and analyzed within this picture.

Advances in nanoparticle synthesis, self-assembly, and surface coating or patterning have enabled a diverse array of applications ranging from photonic and phononic crystal fabrication to drug delivery vehicles. One of the key obstacles restricting its potential is structural and thermal stability. The presence of a glass transition can facilitate deformation within nanoparticles, thus resulting in a significant alteration in structure and performance. Recently, we detected a glassy-state transition within individual polystyrene nanoparticles and related its origin to the presence of a surface layer with enhanced dynamics compared to the bulk. The presence of this mobile layer could have a dramatic impact on the thermal stability of polymer nanoparticles. Here, we demonstrate how the addition of a shell layer, as thin as a single polymer chain, atop the nanoparticles could completely eliminate any evidence of enhanced mobility at the surface of polystyrene nanoparticles. The ultrathin polymer shell layers were placed atop the nanoparticles via two approaches: (i) covalent bonding or (ii) electrostatic interactions. The temperature dependence of the particle vibrational spectrum, as recorded by Brillouin light scattering, was used to probe the surface mobility of nanoparticles with and without a shell layer. Beyond suppression of the surface mobility, the presence of the ultrathin polymer shell layers impacted the nanoparticle glass transition temperature and shear modulus, albeit to a lesser extent. The implication of this work is that the core–shell architecture allows for tailoring of the nanoparticle elasticity, surface softening, and glass transition temperature.

It is suggested that the question of existence of a jamming phase transition in a broad class of single-lane cellular-automaton traffic models may be studied using a correspondence to the asymmetric chipping model. In models where such correspondence is applicable, jamming phase transition does not take place. Rather, the system exhibits a smooth crossover between free-flow and jammed states, as the car density is increased