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Updated: Jan 22, 2026

Studying the Effects of Temperature on the Nucleation and Growth of Nanoparticles by Liquid-Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy
Published on: February 17, 2021
Temperature Control of Sequential Nucleation-Growth Mechanisms in Hierarchical Supramolecular Polymers
Artem Osypenko1, Emilie Moulin1, Odile Gavat1
1SAMS Research Group, University of Strasbourg-Institut Charles Sadron, CNRS, 23 rue du Loess, BP 84047, 67034, Strasbourg Cedex 2, France.
Abstract:
Upon cooling in solution, chiral triarylamine tris-amide unimers produce organogels by stacking into helical supramolecular polymers, which subsequently bundle into larger fibers. Interestingly, circular dichroism, vibrational circular dichroism, and AFM imaging of the chiral self-assemblies revealed that monocolumnar P-helical fibrils formed upon fast cooling, whereas bundled M-superhelical fibers formed upon slow cooling. The mechanistic study of this structural bifurcation reveals the presence of a strong memory effect, reminiscent of a complex stepwise combination of primary and secondary nucleation-growth processes. These results highlight the instrumental role of sequential self-assembly processes to control supramolecular architectures of multiple hierarchical order.
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