Quasi-continuous melting of model polymer monolayers prompts reinterpretation of polymer melting

Melting is considered a strictly first-order transition and therefore cannot proceed continuously. Here the authors challenge this concept for long-chain compounds by demonstrating continuous melting of thin layers on graphite where the barrier for such melting, the interface crowding, is removed.

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ruibin Zhang, William S. Fall, Kyle Wm. Hall, Gillian A. Gehring, Xiangbing Zeng, Goran Ungar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2021-03-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21799-9