Publications
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Recent Publications
The size of critical secondary nuclei of polymer crystals does not depend on supersaturation
Yang Liu, Zhiqi Wang, Yao Zhang, Tianyu Wu, Tianze Zheng, Bao Hua Guo, Günter Reiter, Jun Xu. Nature Communications 16 (2025) 3773
It is still a great challenge to determine the size of critical nuclei, which is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of crystallization and for testing the controversial crystallization theories. Here, we propose a method to determine the size of critical secondary nuclei on growth faces of poly(butylene succinate) single crystals in solution, basing on the probability of statistically selecting crystallizable units in random copolymers. In a dilute solution and for a given crystallization temperature, we reveal that the size of critical secondary nuclei was independent of supersaturation, contrary to the well-accepted prediction of existing theories which expect that the size of the critical nucleus increases with decreasing supersaturation. Accounting correctly for the dilution-caused change in the steady-state concentration of clusters of various sizes, we remedy inconsistencies of existing theoretical approaches in deriving the correct size of critical secondary nuclei in solution being independent of supersaturation. (more...)
Binghua Wang, Hailong Zou, Xuchen Wang, Changyu Shen, Jingbo Chen, Günter Reiter, Bin Zhang. Nature Communications 16 (2025) 3275
The dissolution of polymer crystals often proceeds at rates varying in time and space. Here, using low molecular weight poly(ethylene oxide) as a model polymer, we exploit step-wise selective dissolution for unveiling how spatial variations in metastability are generated during the growth of lamellar polymer single crystals. The dissolution velocity along defined crystal faces is constant, but ca. 5 times faster for rough than for smooth faces. From the temperature dependence of dissolution, we derive detachment energies of 420 ± 40 kJ/mol and 650 ± 50 kJ/mol for rough and smooth faces, respectively, suggesting that on a rough face polymer chains have ca. 1/3 less neighboring molecules to interact with. The observed high values of the activation energy indicate that, for dissolving a polymer crystal, the progressive detachment of whole chains is indispensable. Our study reveals a strong relation between growth kinetics and the resulting metastability of polymer crystals. (more...)
Baode Zhang, Snežana D. Zarić, Sonja S. Zrilić, Iosif Gofman, Barbara Heck, Günter Reiter. Communications Chemistry 8 (2025) 21
The interplay between attractive London dispersion forces and steric effects due to repulsive forces resulting from the Pauli principle often determines the geometry and stability of nanostructures. Aromatic polyimides (PI) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) were chosen as building blocks as two components in the hetero delocalized electron nanostructures. Two PIs, having the same diamine part and different linkage substituents between two phenyl rings of dianhydride part, one linked with ether bond (C-O-C) (OPI), the other with C-(CF3)2 (FPI), were investigated. Surprisingly, two CNT/PI nanocomposites show distinct failure mode from CNT yielding to CNT pull-out failure. Calculation of the interaction energy and chain conformations of each PI upon CNT was performed by accurate density functional theory (DFT) calculations and molecular dynamic simulation (MDS). (more...)
Valentina Pirela, Leire Unanue, Justine Elgoyhen, Javier Ramos, Juan Francisco Vega, Agurtzane Mugica, Manuela Zubitur, Cuong Minh Quoc Le, Abraham Chemtob, Radmila Tomovska, Günter Reiter, Jaime Martín, Alejandro J. Müller. European Polymer Journal (2025) 113721
This work studies how the chemical structure of relatively similar high-sulfur alternating polythioether homopolymers (DMDS-alt-DVE, DMDS-alt-TEGDVE, and DMDS-alt-BDDVE) affects their structural properties, morphology, polymorphism, and crystallization kinetics. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized light optical microscopy (PLOM) experiments revealed a complex crystallization for the samples in which up to three different polymorphic phases were identified: a very low melting crystal form (VL-Tm form), a low melting crystal form (L-Tm form) and a high melting crystal form (H-Tm form), characterized by their corresponding melting temperature ranges and confirmed via Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS). A coexistence of negative and positive spherulites was found, and their origin was revealed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), which showed how the lamellar arrangement varied in the samples from predominantly radial to a cross-hatched morphology. (more...)
List of Publications
- Negative cooperativity and aggregation in biphasic binding of Mastoporan X Peptide to membranes with acidic lipids
- G. Schwarz, R. Reiter. Biophysical Chemistry 90, 269-277 (2001)
- Call for papers Special issue on "Properties of thin polymer films"
- Günter Reiter (Editor) and James Forrest (Guest Editor) Eur. Phys. J. E 5, 389 (2001)
- Mission accomplished??
- A.M. Donald, J.-F. Joanny, M. Möller and G. Reiter (Editors-in-Chief). Eur. Phys. J. E 4, 3 (2001)
- Direct visualization of random crystallization and melting in arrays of nanometer-sized polymer crystals
- G. Reiter, G. Castelein, J.-U. Sommer, A. Röttele, T. Thurn-Albrecht. Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 226101 (2001)
- Morphogenesis of lamellar polymer crystals
- J.-U. Sommer, G. Reiter. Europhys. Lett. 56, 755 (2001)
- Dewetting of highly elastic thin polymer films
- Günter Reiter. Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 186101 (2001)
- Spincast, thin, glassy polymer films: highly metastable forms of matter
- G. Reiter, P. G. de Gennes. Eur. Phys. J. E 6, 25-28 (2001)
- Auto-optimization of dewetting rates by rim instabilities in slipping polymer films
- G. Reiter, A. Sharma. Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 166103 (2001)
- Liquidlike morphological transformations in mono-lamellar polymer crystals
- G. Reiter, G. Castelein, J.-U. Sommer. Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 5918 (2001)
- Friction induced by grafted polymeric chains
- A. Casoli, M. Brendlé, J. Schultz, P. Auroy, G. Reiter. Langmuir 17, 388 (2001)
- SAXS and DSC studies of the crystallization and melting phenomena of poly(epsilon-caprolactone)
- B. Heck, E.R. Sadiku, G.R. Strobl. Macromolecular Symposia 165, 99-113 (2001)
- A new light driven spectrometer for the determination of complex heat capacities and conductivities by combination of effusivity and diffusivity measurements
- T. Albrecht, S. Armbruster, B. Stühn, K. Vogel, G. Strobl. Thermochimica Acta 377, 159-172 (2001)
- Dynamics of surface crystallization and melting in polyethylene and poly(ethylene oxide) studied by temperature-modulated DSC and heat wave spectroscopy
- T. Albrecht, S. Armbruster, S. Keller, G. Strobl. Macromolecules 34, 8456-8467 (2001)
- Critical strains determining the yield behavior of s-PP
- Y. Men, G. Strobl. Journal of Macromolecular Science - Physics B40, 775-796 (2001)
- Kinetics of reversible surface crystallization and melting in polyethylene oxide): Effect of crystal thickness observed in the dynamic heat capacity
- T. Albrecht, S. Armbruster, S. Keller, G. Strobl. European Physical Journal E 6, 237-243 (2001)
- The mechanisms of recrystallization after melting in syndiotactic polypropylene and isotactic polystyrene
- M. Al-Hussein, G. Strobl. European Physical Journal E 6, 305-314 (2001)
- Effect of the Network on the Director Fluctuations in a Nematic Side-Group Elastomer Analysed by Static and Dynamic Light Scattering
- M. Schönstein, W. Stille, and G. Strobl. Eur. Phys. J. E 5, 511 (2001)
- A temperature- and molar mass-dependent change in the crystallization mechanism of poly(1-butene): Transition from chain-folded to chain-extended crystallization?
- Qiang Fu, Barbara Heck, Gert Strobl, Yi Thomann. Macromolecules 34, 2502-2511 (2001)
- Dynamics of Backbone Chain and Side Groups in a Nematic Liquid Single Crystal Elastomer Studied by Combined Mechanical and Stress-optical Measurements
- F. Schmidt, J. Siepmann, W. Stille and G. R. Strobl. Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 350, 103 (2000)
- Negative excess interfacial entropy between free and end-grafted chemically identical polymers
- G. Reiter, R. Khanna. Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 5599-5602 (2000)