Sorption of CO2 in both the glassy and the rubbery state of an amorphous po
lyethylenelike polymer was investigated using molecular dynamics simulation
s. The temperature was chosen such that the system was in its glassy state
at low solute concentrations and its rubbery state at large solute concentr
ations. Both the pressure and the volume isotherms changed character at the
transition concentration. The physical origin of these changes was clarifi
ed by investigation of the excess thermodynamic properties of the solute bo
th below and above the transition concentration. Dynamical changes occuring
at the glass transition were studied through the self-intermediate scatter
ing function of the polymer atoms. This function was found to excellently r
eveal the difference between the dynamics of the glassy and rubbery state a
nd therefore served as an independent tool monitoring the glass transition.
(C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(99)50522-9].