Publications
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Recent Publications
Spatiotemporal Sequence of Interdependent Nucleation Mechanisms in Ultrathin Polymer Films
Da Huang, Rana Bakhshi, Raoul M. D'Anselme, Günter Reiter. Macromolecules, published online
Employing defined starting conditions of ultrathin molten poly(ethylene oxide) films on model solid substrates, we investigated the spatiotemporal sequence of interdependent mechanisms of crystal nucleation. Due to the limited number and the preferred conformation of polymer chains parallel to the substrate, primary nucleation favored edge-on lamellar crystals, which indirectly induced other subsequent nucleation pathways, enabled through the molten polymer chains accumulated at their peripheral fold surfaces. Both additional edge-on lamellar crystals and branched flat-on lamellar crystals were initiated. For long-chain polymers, spatial correlations between lamellar crystals across intervening noncrystalline regions were established through polymer chains incorporated within neighboring lamellae. (more...)
Decai Lin, Zebin Su, Yuxiang Chen, Jianquan Xu, Günter Reiter, Cuiyun Zhang, Xinping Wang. Macromolecules 59 (2026) 4970–4981
Using infrared reflection–absorption spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy, we revealed that polymer–substrate interactions, chain length, and film thickness critically influenced the morphology and orientation of lamellar crystals of poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) grown at a constant temperature. In contrast to the often-observed monotonic change from preferentially flat-on to edge-on crystals upon increasing film thickness, an unprecedented nonmonotonic change in the dominating orientation of lamellar crystals from edge-on to flat-on and back to edge-on was observed. In the thinnest films, size confinement and adsorption-induced alignment of the chains favored the nucleation and growth of edge-on lamellar crystals. Enhanced polymer–substrate interactions promoted the formation of edge-on lamellar crystals in the thinnest films with a higher molecular weight. (more..)
Anmol Arya, Solomon L. Joseph, Francois Vonau, Jean-Luc Bubendorff, Silvia Siegenführ, Laurent Simon, Günter Reiter. J. Phys. Chem. C 2026, 130, 5536–5546
In the course of electrospraying in a vacuum, polymers acquire electric charges, which are distributed along their backbone. Here, we demonstrate that these charges have a strong impact on the molecular ordering and spectroscopic properties of conjugated polymers when deposited on substrates with an insulating oxide layer. To this end, we electrosprayed varying amounts of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) onto silicon substrates with oxide layers of different thickness. The resulting morphologies were explored by atomic force microscopy. The corresponding spectroscopic properties, including their changes in time upon illumination, were derived from photoluminescence (PL) measurements. On insulating substrates, charges were retained on the polymer chains, causing long-range electrostatic repulsion and the formation of largely separated droplet-like objects containing multiple chains. These objects exhibited significant PL intensities for photons with a wavelength (λ) less than ca. 600 nm, suggesting the lack of π–π stacking interactions between P3HT chains. (more...)
Reversible Metamorphosis of a Conjugated Polymer Induced by Photoexcitation
Solomon Joseph, Anmol Arya, Günter Reiter. Advanced Photonics Research 7 (2026) e202500311
Optoelectronic properties of materials are frequently examined through spectroscopic tools based on the absorption and emission of (visible) photons. Typically, one assumes that these transient characterization processes do not cause observable change of these properties because of the low power of the employed light sources. However, for flexible conjugated polymers in a medium of low viscosity, it is decidedly unclear whether photoexcitation of electrons on the backbone of a long polymer chain has an influence on macromolecular conformations and the corresponding intermolecular interactions. Here, we provide clear experimental evidence that continuous absorption of photons progressively causes persistent changes in the spectroscopic properties of conjugated polymers, accompanied by microscopically observable changes in their spatial distribution within a low-viscosity matrix. By contrast, all these changes were completely absent in nonilluminated parts of the same sample.(more...)
Temperature dependence of crystal – melt coexistence for supported polyethylene filaments
Da Huang, Thorsten Hugel, Bizan N. Balzer, Günter Reiter. Nature Communications 16 (2025) 11127
The broken symmetry of molecular interactions at interfaces is causing that crystals are often covered by a thin liquid layer of their own melt. Such crystal–melt coexistence can be related to phenomena of surface premelting, secondary nucleation and melting point depression, particularly important for small systems. Here, we employed intermittent-contact mode atomic force microscopy imaging on nanoscopic semi-cylindrical filaments of polyethylene on a substrate to observe that these filaments contained a crystalline core bounded by molten regions of rather uniform width, W_soft= (9 ± 2) nm at room temperature, which increased reversibly with temperature T. Filaments smaller than ca. 2∙W_soft (T) were completely molten. The values of W_soft (T) compared favorably with theoretically predicted characteristic length scales in the context of nucleation, surface premelting and the melting point depression of finite size crystals. Altogether, we show that these three phenomena are related and dominated by the intermolecular forces acting at crystal surfaces.(more...)
List of Publications
- Self-assembled patterns from evaporating layered fluids
- L. V. Govor, J. Parisi, G. H. Bauer, G. Reiter. Journal of Physics - Condensed Matter 21, 264015 (2009)
- Dewetting as an investigative tool for studying properties of thin polymer films
- Günter Reiter, Samer Al Akhrass, Moustafa Hamieh, Pascal Damman, Sylvain Gabriele, Thomas Vilmin, Elie Raphaël. Eur. Phys. J. - Special Topics 166, 165-172 (2009)
- Characterizing and modeling the non-linear viscoelastic tensile deformation of a glass fiber reinforced polypropylene
- J. Fritsch, S. Hiermaier, G. Strobl. Composites Science and Technology 69, 2460-2466 (2009)
- Colloqium: Laws controlling crystallization and melting in bulk polymers
- G. Strobl. Rev. Mod. Phys. 81, 1287-1300 (2009)
- Deformation of cholesteric elastomers by uniaxial stress along the helix axis
- Werner Stille. Eur. Phys. J. E 28, 57-71 (2009)
- 高分子物理学: 理解其结构和性质的基本概念
- 作者:(德国)G.斯特罗伯 译者:胡文兵 蒋世春 门永峰 北京:科学出版社 2009, ISBN 978-7-03-022441-5
- Metastable Untwisted States in Cholesteric Elastomers
- Werner Stille. Macromolecules 42, 7979-7981 (2009)
- Gradient Interfaces in SBS and SBS/PS Blends and Their Influence on Morphology Development and Material Properties
- Yi Thomann, Ralf Thomann, Alfred Hasenhindl, Rolf Mülhaupt, Barbara Heck, Konrad Knoll, Helmut Steininger, Kay Saalwächter. Macromolecules 42, 5684-5699 (2009)
- Understanding crystal orientation in quasi-one-dimensional polymer systems
- Yu Ma, Wenbing Hu, Jamie Hobbs, Guenter Reiter. Soft Matter 4, 540-543 (2008)
- Oligonucleotide nanostructured surfaces: effect on Escherichia coli curli expression
- Nicolas Cottenye, Francisco Teixeira Jr., Arnaud Ponche, Günter Reiter, Karine Anselme, Wolfgang Meier, Lydie Ploux, Corinne Vebert-Nardin. Macromolecular Bioscience 8, 1161-1172 (2008)
- Morphological Instabilities of Polymer Crystals
- Nikolay Grozev, Ioan Botiz, Günter Reiter. Eur. Phys. J. E 27, 63-71 (2008)
- Crystal nucleation enhanced at the diffusive interface of immiscible polymer blends
- Yu Ma, Liyun Zha, Wenbing Hu, Günter Reiter, Charles C. Han. Phys. Rev. E 77, 061801 (2008)
- Semicrystalline Macromolecular Design by Nitroxide-Mediated Polymerization
- Khaled Karaky, Gérald Clisson, Günter Reiter, Laurent Billon. Macromol. Chem. Phys. 209, 715–722 (2008)
- Viscoelastic Thin Polymer Films under Transient Residual Stresses: Two-Stage Dewetting on Soft Substrates
- S. Al Akhrass, G. Reiter, S.Y. Hou, M. H. Yang, Y. L. Chang, F. C. Chang, C. F. Wang, A. C.-M. Yang. Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 178301 (2008)
- The Influence of Protic Non-Solvents Present in the Environment on Structure Formation of Poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate) in Organic Solvents
- Ioan Botiz, Nikolay Grozev, Helmut Schlaad, Günter Reiter. Soft Matter, 4, 993-1002 (2008)
- Influence of Progressive Cross-Linking on Dewetting of Polystyrene Thin Films
- Samer Al Akhrass, Roxana-Viorela Ostaci, Yves Grohens, Eric Drockenmuller, Günter Reiter. Langmuir 24, 1884-1890 (2008)
- Tuning the surface/bulk properties by the control of the amphiphilic profile in gradient copolymer
- K. Karaky, C. Derail, G. Reiter, et al. Conference Information: 46th Microsymposium on Macromolecules - Nanostructured Polymers and Polymer Nanocomposites, Jul.08 - Aug.12, 2007 Prague, Czech Republic, Macromolecular Symposia 267, 31-40 (2008)
- Characterizing and modeling the tensile deformation of polyethylene: The temperature and crystallinity dependences
- Ke Hong, Gert Strobl. Polymer Science Series A 50, 483-493 (2008)
- Zero Growth Temperature of Crystallizing Polyethylene
- T. Y. Cho, W. Stille, G. Strobl. Macromolecules 40, 2596 (2007)
- Zero growth temperature and growth kinetics of crystallizing poly(ε-caprolactone)
- T.-Y. Cho, W. Stille, G. Strobl. Colloid Polym. Sci. 285, 931 (2007)