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 58 (2025) 12222–12230
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
- Variation of the contact resistance with electric current for gold electrodes on a squaraine single crystal
- Leonid Govor, Guenter Reiter, and Jurgen Parisi. Phys. Status Solidi A 212 (2015) 2738–2746, DOI 10.1002/pssa.201532241
- Simulation of secondary nucleation of polymer crystallization via a model of microscopic kinetics
- Kun-Lun Xu, Bao-Hua Guo, Renate Reiter, Günter Reiter, Jun Xu. Chinese Chemical Letters 26, 1105–1108 (2015) / DOI: 10.1016/j.cclet.2015.06.002
- From holes to drops to toroids: Conditions for the transcription of surface patterns into three-dimensional morphologies via rim instabilities in the course of dewetting
- Samer Al Akhrass, Laurent Vonna and Günter Reiter. In: Polymer Surfaces in Motion: Unconventional Patterning Methods, Eds. Juan Rodriguez-Hernandez and Carlos Drummond. Springer 2015
- Tuning Morphologies of Langmuir Polymer Films Through Controlled Relaxations of Non-Equilibrium States
- Sivasurender Chandran, Stefanie Dold, Amaury Buvignier, Kai-Steffen Krannig, Helmut Schlaad, Günter Reiter, and Renate Reiter. Langmuir 2015, 31, 6426−6435. DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b01212
- High Temperature Stability of Dewetting-Induced Thin Polyethylene Filaments
- Bin Zhang, Jingbo Chen, Paul Freyberg, Renate Reiter, Rolf Mülhaupt, Jun Xu, Günter Reiter. Macromolecules 48, 1518–1523 (2015)
- Triangular dewetting by symmetry breaking in blends of stiff and flexible polymers
- Paul Freyberg. Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Fakultät für Mathematik und Physik der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, 2015
- Conductive atomic force microscopy measurements on organic nanocrystals
- Sven Renkert. Master Thesis, Fakultät für Mathematik und Physik der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, 2014
- The influence of the additive composition on degradation induced changes in poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) during photochemical aging
- Angelika Beinert, Cornelia Peike, Ines Dürr, Michael D. Kempe, Günter Reiter, Karl-Anders Weiß. 29th European PV Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, 22-26 Sept. 2014, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Wie kristallisieren Polymere?
- Gert Strobl. Physik Journal 13, 47-50 (2014)
- The Crucial Role of Cadmium Acetate-Induced Conformational Restriction in Microscopic Structure and Stability of Polystyrene-block-Polyvinyl pyridine Thin Films
- Feifei Xue, Hongfei Li, Jichun You, Conghua Lu, Günter Reiter, Shichun Jiang. Polymer 55, 5801-5810 (2014)
- Molecular Weight Dependent Changes in Morphology of Solution Grown Polyethylene Single Crystals
- Bin Zhang, Jingbo Chen, Moritz C. Baier, Stefan Mecking, Renate Reiter, Rolf Mülhaupt, Günter Reiter. Macrom. Rapid Comm. 36, 181-189 (2015)
- Annealing-Induced Periodic Patterns in Solution Grown Polymer Single Crystals
- Bin Zhang, Jingbo Chen, Hui Zhang, Moritz C. Baier, Stefan Mecking, Renate Reiter, Rolf Mülhaupt, Günter Reiter, RSC Advances 5, 12974 (2015)
- Anisotropic Photophysical Properties of Highly Aligned Crystalline Structures of a Bulky Substituted Poly(thiophene)
- Yingying Wang, Barbara Heck, Daniel Schiefer, John O. Agumba, Michael Sommer, Tao Wen, and Günter Reiter. ACSMacroLett. 3, 881-885 (2014)
- Cellulose nanocrystals’ production in near theoretical yields by 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate ([Bmim]HSO4) – mediated hydrolysis
- Jia Mao, Barbara Heck, Günter Reiter, Marie-Pierre Laborie. Carbohydrate Polymers 117, 443–451 (2015)
- Correlating polymer crystals via self-induced nucleation
- Hui Zhang, Muhuo Yu, Bin Zhang, Renate Reiter, Maximilian Vielhauer, Rolf Mülhaupt, Jun Xu, Günter Reiter. PhysRevLett 112, 237801 (2014)
- Nickel Catalyst with a Hybrid P, N Ligand for Kumada Catalyst Transfer Polycondensation of Sterically Hindered Thiophenes
- Daniel Schiefer, Tao Wen, Yingying Wang, Pierre Goursot, Hartmut Komber, Ralf Hanselmann, Pierre Braunstein, Günter Reiter, Michael Sommer. ACSMacroLett. 3, 617-621 (2014)
- Tunneling Spectroscopy Measurements on Hydrogen-Bonded Supramolecular Polymers
- François Vonau, Dominique Aubel, Laurent Bouteiller, Roozbeh Shokri, Günter Reiter, Olga Guskova, Laurent Simon. Nanoscale 6, 8250 (2014)
- Pattern Formation on Single Crystals of Isotatic Polystyrene in Thin Films
- Hui Zhang. Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Fakultät für Mathematik und Physik der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, 2014
- Investigation of Structure Formation and Reorganization of Polymer Crystals
- Bin Zhang. Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrads der Fakultät für Chemie und Pharmazie, 2014
- Anisotropic charge transport in large single crystals of π-conjugated organic molecules
- Wael Hourani, Khosrow Rahimi, Ioan Botiz, Felix Peter Vinzenz Koch, Günter Reiter, Peter Lienerth, Thomas Heiser, Jean-Luc Bubendorff, and Laurent Simon. Nanoscale 6, 4774 (2014)