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Recent Publications


London dispersion forces and steric effects within nanocomposites tune interaction energies and chain conformation

Baode Zhang, Snežana D. Zarić, Sonja S. Zrilić, Iosif Gofman, Barbara Heck, Günter Reiter. Communications Chemistry 8 (2025) 21

baode.jpgThe 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...)


Effect of chemical structure on the crystallization kinetics of triple polymorphic high-sulfur-content polythioethers

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...)


Post-spin Stretch Improves Mechanical Properties, Reduces Necking, and Reverts Effects of Aging in Biomimetic Artificial Spider Silk Fibers

Gabriele Greco, Benjamin Schmuck, Fredrik G. Bäcklund, Günter Reiter and Anna Rising. ACS Appl. Polym. Mater.  6 (2024) 14342–14350

reiter-2024-05.jpgRecent biotechnological advancements in protein production and development of biomimetic spinning procedures make artificial spider silk a promising alternative to petroleum-based fibers. To enhance the competitiveness of artificial silk in terms of mechanical properties, refining the spinning techniques is imperative. One potential strategy involves the integration of post-spin stretching, known to improve fiber strength and stiffness while potentially offering additional advantages. Here, we demonstrate that post-spin stretching not only enhances the mechanical properties of artificial silk fibers but also restores a higher and more uniform alignment of the protein chains, leading to a higher fiber toughness. (more...)
 


Mechanistically Different Mechanochromophores Enable Calibration and Validation of Molecular Forces in Glassy Polymers and Elastomeric Networks

Raphael Hertel, Maximilian Raisch, Michael Walter, Günter Reiter, Michael Sommer. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2024, e202409369

sommer.jpgSterically distorted donor-acceptor p‑systems, termed DA springs, can be progressively planarized under mechanical load causing a bathochromic shift of the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum. By combining theory and experiment, we here use a simple linear force calibration for two different conformational mechanochromophores to determine molecular forces in polymers from the mechanochromic shift in PL wavelength during multiple uniaxial tensile tests. Two systems are used, i) a highly entangled linear glassy polyphenylene and ii) a covalent elastomeric polydimethylsiloxane network. The mean forces estimated by this method are validated using known threshold forces for the mechanochemical ring-opening reactions of two different spiropyran force probes. The agreement between both approaches underlines that these DA springs provide the unique opportunity for the online monitoring of local molecular forces present in diverse polymer matrices.(more...)

 

List of Publications

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)
The ABC of Pattern Evolution in Self-destruction of Thin Polymer Films
R. Khanna, A. Sharma, G. Reiter. EPJdirect E 2, 1-9 (2000)
Enhanced Instability in Thin Liquid Films by Improved Compatibility
G. Reiter, R. Khanna, A. Sharma. Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 1432-1435 (2000)
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