The segmental dynamics of one-component nanocomposites (OCNC) is significantly influenced by the molecular weight $\left(M_w\right)$ of the grafted polymer. Neutron backscattering shows that compared to the neat polymer the OCNCs exhibit a shift from slower segmental dynamics at low $M_w$ to faster dynamics at high $M_w$. We model the local relaxation as distribution of exponential diffusers. This approach reveals the presence of fast and slow segments in both OCNCs. However, their fractional contribution varies with $M_w$ leading to different average relaxation times. Our results present important insights into the origin of segmental mobility in OCNC and address the inconsistencies in different literature reports.

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• Diffusion
• Polymer behavior
• Polymer conformation changes
• Polymer brushes
• Polymer composites
• Differential thermal analysis
• Neutron scattering
• Quasi elastic neutron scattering