Publications
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Recent Publications
Crystallization of Layers of Strongly Adsorbed Poly(ethylene terephthalate) on Silicon Substrates
Liang Chen, Zhihang Bian, Xiaonan Li, Zhenwei Jiang, Jianquan Xu, Decai Lin, Guenter Reiter, Jichun You, Xinping Wang. Macromolecules published online
We examined the crystallization behavior of ultrathin layers of strongly adsorbed poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) chains on silicon substrates, yielding a characteristic morphology of uniquely curved dendritic polymer crystals. The observed curvature resulted from bent edge-on lamellar crystals from which terraced flat-on branched lamellar crystals grew essentially from the convex outer side. The degree of bending increased with decreasing crystallization temperature and increasing strength of polymer/substrate interactions. We propose that unbalanced stresses acting on the fold surfaces of PET lamellar crystals, probably induced by strong interactions with the substrate, were responsible for the observed curvature of the lamellar crystals. (more...)
Crystallization and Melting of Polyethylene Strongly Cross-linked in the Molten State
Jingqing Li, Weihua Wang, Yunxiang Shi, Barbara Heck, Chuanfu Luo, Jesper de Claville Christiansen, Donghong Yu, Günter Reiter, Shichun Jiang. Soft Matter 21 (2025) 6422
We examined the crystallization and melting behavior of highly cross-linked polyethylene (xPE) samples, including structural characterization of the resulting crystalline domains. Using γ-ray irradiation, cross-linking was performed in the molten state and not in the solid state. This approach assured a statistical and homogeneous distribution of the cross-link points. Upon increasing the radiation dose, the molecular weight of the strands connecting the cross-link points reached values even lower than that of the strands between physical entanglements. (more...)
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...)
List of Publications
- Assembling semiconducting molecules by covalent attachment to a lamellar crystalline polymer substrate
- Rainhard Machatschek, Patrick Ortmann, Renate Reiter, Stefan Mecking and Günter Reiter. Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 7 (2016) 784–798
- When hole extraction determines charge transfer across metal-organic-metal structure
- L. V. Govor, G. Reiter and J. Parisi, EPL, 113 (2016) 57002
- Influence of interfacial trap states on injecting and extracting of charges across a metal-organic interface
- L.V. Govor, G. Reiter and J. Parisi. J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 49 (2016) 135306
- Continuous Fused Deposition Modelling of Architectural Envelopes Based on the Shell Formation of Molluscs: A Research Review
- James H. Nebelsick, Christoph Allgaier, Benjamin Felbrich, Daniel Coupek, Renate Reiter, Günter Reiter, Achim Menges, Armin Lechler, Karl-Heinz Wurst. In book: Biomimetic Research for Architecture and Building Construction. Eds. Jan Knippers, Klaus Nickel, Thomas Speck. Springer 2016
- Tunneling of charge carriers across a gold–squaraine interface
- L.V. Govor, G. Reiter and J. Parisi, Physics Letters A 380 (2016) 1493–1498
- Intrinsic Stresses in Thin Glassy Polymer Films Revealed by Crack Formation
- Mithun Chowdhury, Xiaoyuan Sheng, Falko Ziebert, Arnold C.-M. Yang, Alessandro Sepe, Ullrich Steiner, and Günter Reiter. Macromolecules 49 (2016) 9060−9067
- Revealing Order and Disorder in Films and Single Crystals of a Thiophene-Based Oligomer by Optical Spectroscopy
- Sajedeh Motamen, Dominic Raithel, Richard Hildner, Khosrow Rahimi, Thibaut Jarrosson, Françoise Serein-Spirau, Laurent Simon, and Günter Reiter. ACS Photonics 3 (2016) 2315–2323
- Poly(2,5-dioctylphenyl-3-thiophene) synthesized by direct arylation polycondensation: End groups, defects and crystallinity
- Daniel Schiefer, Hartmut Komber, Fanuel Mugwanga Keheze, Susanna Kunz, Ralf Hanselmann, Guenter Reiter, Michael Sommer. Macromolecules 49 (2016) 7230-7237
- Transient cooperative processes in dewetting polymer melts
- Sivasurender Chandran, Günter Reiter, PRL 116 (2016) 088301
- Crystallization and Resulting Optical Properties of Thiophene-Based Oligomers
- Sajedeh Motamen. Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrads der Fakultät für Mathematik und Physik der Universität Freiburg, 2016
- Large area crystal surfaces of precisely sidebranched polyethylenes: Preparation, surface order and functionalization
- Rainhard Machatschek. Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Fakultät für Chemie und Pharmazie der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg im Breisgau, 2016
- Probing the Elasticity of Langmuir Polymer Films of High Molecular Weight Poly (γ-benzyl-L-glutamate)
- Emna Khechine. Master Thesis im Studiengang M.Sc. Sustainable Materials, 2016
- Self-assembled nanotubes and nanoribbons of aromatic diamide-esters
- Asad Jamal. Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrads der Fakultät für Mathematik und Physik der Universität Freiburg, 2016
- Formation and Optical Characterization of Single Crystals of Poly(3-Hexylthiophene) (P3HT), a Model Conjugated Polymer
- John O. Agumba. Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrads der Fakultät für Mathematik und Physik der Universität Freiburg, 2016
- History Dependent Temporal Changes of Properties of Thin Polymer Films
- Günter Reiter. In: Non-equilibrium Phenomena in Confined Soft Matter. Ed. Simone Napolitano. Springer 2015
- Consequences of a Single Double Bond within a Side-Group on the Ordering of Supra-Molecular Polymers
- Roozbeh Shokri, Olga Guskova, Asad Jamal, Kaiwan Jahanshahi, Benjamin Isare, Laurent Bouteiller, Laurent Simon, Jens-Uwe Sommer, Günter Reiter. The Journal of Physical Chemistry, Part C 119 (2015) 22596–22603
- Different surface sensing of the cell body and nucleus in healthy primary cells and in a cancerous cell line on nanogrooves
- Patricia Davidson, Maxence Bigerelle, Günter Reiter and Karine Anselm. Biointerphases 10, 031004 (2015) / DOI: 10.1116/1.4927556
- How Chain-Folding Crystal Growth Determines Thermodynamic Stability of Polymer Crystals
- Xiaoming Jiang, Günter Reiter, Wenbing Hu. J. Phys. Chem. B, 120 (2016) 566–571
- Stabilization of nuclei of lamellar polymer crystals: Insights from a comparison of the Hoffman-Weeks line with the crystallization line
- Jun Xu, Barbara Heck, Hai-Mu Ye, Jing Jiang, Yi-Ren Tang, Jin Liu, Bao-Hua Guo, Renate Reiter, Dongshan Zhou, Günter Reiter. Macromolecules 49 (2016) 2206–2215
- Role of Preparation Pathways and Tacticity on the Non-Equilibrium Dynamcis of Polystyrene Films
- Rishab Handa. Master Thesis im Studiengang M.Sc. Sustainable Materials, 2016