Thermal actuation in TRPV1: Role of embedded lipids and intracellular domains.

The transient response potential cation channel TRPV1 responds to high temperature, but many of the mechanisms driving its thermal actuation remain unclear. Its recently resolved structure has enabled a number of molecular dynamics (MD) studies focused on illuminating these mechanisms. We add to these efforts by performing the first all-atom MD simulations of its most recently resolved structure at different temperatures. While the complete, thermally induced transition of TRPV1 from its closed to open configuration remains elusive, our analysis of the hydrogen bonding networks, thermodynamics, hydration, and principal components of motion provide a wealth of information on the mechanisms which initiate or influence the thermal opening in TRPV1. In particular, we (i) support the previously proposed mechanism driving thermal actuation in the extracellular pore of TRPV1, (ii) present new hypotheses regarding the thermal actuation in the C-terminal and adjacent linker domains, and (iii) support and build upon the existing hypothesis regarding the role of the vanilloid binding pocket and lipids embedded therein.

Phonon coupling and transport in individual polyethylene chains: a comparison study with the bulk crystal.

Using the first-principles-based anharmonic lattice dynamics, we calculate the thermal conductivities (κ) of both bulk and single-chain polyethylene (PE) and characterize the mode-wise phonon transport and scattering channels. A significantly higher room-temperature axial thermal conductivity in single-chain PE (1400 W m-1 K-1) is observed compared to bulk PE crystals (237 W m-1 K-1). The reduction of scattering phase space caused by the diminished inter-chain van der Waals interactions explains the much larger κ in single-chain PE. Different from many previous studies, the thermal conductivity of single-chain PE is predicted to converge at a chain length of ∼1 mm at 300 K. The convergence is explained by the indirect thermal resistance from momentum-conserving scatterings of long-wavelength phonons. It is also found that longitudinal phonon modes dominate the thermal transport in PE chains, while transverse phonon branches with quadratic dispersions contribute little to κ due to their vanishing group velocities and limited lifetimes in the long wavelength limit. The predicted high κ of bulk crystalline and single-chain PE show great potential for use of polymers in thermal management, and the unveiled phonon transport mechanisms offer guides for their molecule-level design.

Electrical, thermal, and species transport properties of liquid eutectic Ga-In and Ga-In-Sn from first principles.

Using ab initio molecular dynamics, the atomic structure and transport properties of eutectic Ga-In and Ga-In-Sn are investigated. The Kubo-Greenwood (K-G) and the Ziman-Faber (Z-F) formulations and the Wiedemann-Franz (W-F) law are used for the electrical and electronic thermal conductivity. The species diffusivity and the viscosity are also predicted using the mean square displacement and the Stokes-Einstein (S-E) relation. Alloying Ga causes more disordered structure, i.e., broadening the atomic distance near the In and Sn atoms, which reduces the transport properties and the melting temperature. The K-G treatment shows excellent agreement with the experimental results while Z-F treatment formula slightly overestimates the electrical conductivity. The predicted thermal conductivity also shows good agreement with the experiments. The species diffusivity and the viscosity are slightly reduced by the alloying of Ga with In and Sn atoms. Good agreements are found with available experimental results and new predicted transport-property results are provided.

A novel role of three dimensional graphene foam to prevent heater failure during boiling.

We report a novel boiling heat transfer (NBHT) in reduced graphene oxide (RGO) suspended in water (RGO colloid) near critical heat flux (CHF), which is traditionally the dangerous limitation of nucleate boiling heat transfer because of heater failure. When the heat flux reaches the maximum value (CHF) in RGO colloid pool boiling, the wall temperature increases gradually and slowly with an almost constant heat flux, contrary to the rapid wall temperature increase found during water pool boiling. The gained time by NBHT would provide the safer margin of the heat transfer and the amazing impact on the thermal system as the first report of graphene application. In addition, the CHF and boiling heat transfer performance also increase. This novel boiling phenomenon can effectively prevent heater failure because of the role played by the self-assembled three-dimensional foam-like graphene network (SFG).

X-ray tomography of morphological changes after freeze/thaw in gas diffusion layers.

Liquid water produced in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell experiences a freeze/thaw cycle when the cell is switched off and on while operating at ambient temperatures below freezing. This freeze/thaw cycle permanently deforms the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell capillary structures and reduces both the cell life and its ability to generate electric power. The X-ray tomography facility at the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory was used to observe the freeze/thaw effects on the gas diffusion layer (GDL), which is the thickest capillary layer in the cell. Morphological changes in the GDL under a water freeze/thaw cycle were observed. A scenario in which freeze/thaw cycles affect fuel cell performance is suggested based on images from X-ray tomography.

Structural order-disorder transitions and phonon conductivity of partially filled skutterudites.

Filled skutterudites are high-performance thermoelectric materials and we show how their phonon conductivity is greatly influenced by the topology of the filler species. We predict (ab initio) the phase diagram of Ba(x)Co4Sb12 and find several stable configurations of Ba ordering over the intrinsic voids. The phonon conductivity predicted using molecular dynamics shows a minimum in the two-phase mixture regime, dominated by significantly reduced long-range acoustic phonon transport.