Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40263380›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

The size of critical secondary nuclei of polymer crystals does not depend on supersaturation.

Yang Liu, Zhiqi Wang, Yao Zhang, Tianyu Wu, Tianze Zheng, Baohua Guo, Günter Reiter, Jun Xu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Yang LiuAdvanced Materials Laboratory of Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Zhiqi WangAdvanced Materials Laboratory of Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Yao ZhangAdvanced Materials Laboratory of Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Tianyu WuDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, College of New Energy and Materials, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, China.
Tianze ZhengAdvanced Materials Laboratory of Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5413-8246
Baohua GuoAdvanced Materials Laboratory of Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Günter ReiterInstitute of Physics, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4578-8316
Jun XuAdvanced Materials Laboratory of Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. jun-xu@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2345-0541

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 21861132018National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 21873054
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

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.

Identifiers

PMID40263380
PMCPMC12015502

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.