Influence of a graphene substrate on the stabilization of molecular systems with hydrogen bonds

TL;DR

This study uses numerical simulations to show that graphene substrates enhance the thermal stability of molecular structures with hydrogen bonds, such as polyglycine β-sheets and Kevlar molecules.

Contribution

It demonstrates, through modeling, that graphene can significantly increase the thermal stability of hydrogen-bonded molecular systems like Kevlar fibers.

Findings

β-sheets retain shape up to 800K on graphene

Kevlar molecules show even higher stability

Graphene addition enhances thermal stability of fibers

Abstract

Numerical simulation of the dynamics of planar two- and three-layer molecular structures formed by $\beta$-sheets of polyglycine peptide chains and systems of parallel Kevlar (para-aramid) molecules placed on a graphene sheet has been performed. It is shown that in these structures the $\beta$-sheets retain their shape, due to the presence of parallel chains of hydrogen bonds, up to a temperature of $T=800$K. An even higher stability is exhibited by the system of parallel Kevlar molecules. Here, the parallel chains of hydrogen bonds between peptide groups of neighboring molecules are preserved even at higher temperatures. The performed modeling allows us to conclude that the addition of graphene to Kevlar fibers can significantly increase their thermal stability.