Dynamics of asymmetric non-polymeric binary glass formers—A nuclear magnetic resonance and dielectric spectroscopy study

We study a dynamically asymmetric binary glass former with the low-Tg component m-tri-cresyl phosphate (m-TCP: Tg = 206 K) and a spirobichroman derivative as a non-polymeric high-Tg component (Tg = 382 K) by means of 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 31P NMR, and dielectric spectroscopy which allow component-selectively probing the dynamics. The entire concentration range is covered, and two main relaxation processes with two Tg are identified, Tg1 and Tg2. The slower one is attributed to the high-Tg component (α1-process), and the faster one is related to the m-TCP molecules (α2-process). Yet, there are indications that a small fraction of m-TCP is associated also with the α1-process. While the α1-relaxation only weakly broadens upon adding m-TCP, the α2-relaxation becomes extremely stretched leading to quasi-logarithmic correlation functions at low m-TCP concentrations—as probed by 31P NMR stimulated echo experiments. Frequency-temperature superposition does not apply for the α2-process and it reflec...