Interplay of intermolecular interactions and flexibility to mediate glass forming ability and fragility: A study of chemical analogs

We have investigated the enthalpic and dielectric relaxations of four groups of quinoline analogs having similar structural properties (i.e., rigidity, stiffness, and bulkiness) but a different steric character and the nature of intermolecular interactions and flexibility. The dielectric fragility index (m(d)) and the enthalpic one (m(H)), determined by the Tool-Narayanaswamy-Moynihan-Hodge formalism, are comparable. Generally, for the four sets of molecules of similar structures, both the interactions and flexibility are found to be critical in making the large span of fragility (i.e., from 59 to 131) and glass forming ability. By contrast, individual impacts of the interaction and flexibility can only explain fragility partly among each group of isomers. We found that the molecules with high fragility are of relatively low liquid density, reflecting the joint impact of the interactions and flexibility. An interesting result is observed among the isomers that the molecules which are fragile have enhanced glass forming ability. The results are unveiling the joint impacts of molecular structure (flexibility) and intermolecular interaction on the molecular dynamics. Published by AIP Publishing.