Glass-transition
temperatures (T
g’s) in poly(ethylene
oxide) chains of 250 monomers as typical examples have been extensively
simulated with the systematically coarse-grained potentials. The studied
model systems include two 1-chain systems without and with the periodic
boundary condition and two 8-chain systems in the NVT and NPT ensembles,
which are labeled as nopbc, pbc, NVT, and NPT, respectively. The absence
of crystallization and instead the occurrence of glass transition
are first confirmed for all these systems during quick cooling from
a high temperature to a low temperature. One unambiguous trend is
then obtained for the dynamical T
g: T
g(nopbc) < T
g(pbc) < T
g(NVT) < T
g(NPT). The T
g reductions
in the former three systems compared to the last one accord with the
greater chain motions at both rubbery and glassy states, which, in
turn, is caused by the free surfaces in different degrees. The free
surfaces and glass transition for these systems can be obviously revealed
by the density maps. It is also found that the dynamical T
g for any system is insensible to either initial configuration
or ultimate conformation. In other words, this work provides some
new insights into glass transition of confined polymers.