Correlation of Positron Annihilation and Other Dynamic Properties in Small Molecule Glass-Forming Substances

Abstract

Positron annihilation spectroscopy is used to characterize the ortho-positronium lifetime, tau(3), in a broad range of small molecule organic glasses over a wide temperature range. The magnitude and thermal variations of tau(3) reflect changes in the dielectric alpha-relaxation time tau(alpha) and its non-Arrhenius or "fragile" characteristics. tau(3) also displays striking similarities with the fast relaxations reflected in the hydrogen-weighted mean square atomic displacements <u(2)>. The parallel temperature variations of <u(2)(T/T(g))>, tau(3)(T/T(g)), and tau(alpha)(T/T(g)), and their similar patterns of change between the different glasses, are discussed in terms of anharmonicity in the intermolecular caging potentials and the subnanometer density heterogeneities.