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Materials science

Polymer crystals downsized

A record has been broken — the smallest-ever polymer crystals have been prepared. Their surprising shape provides crucial evidence that might help explain how polymers crystallize.

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Figure 1: Polyethylene crystal growth.
Figure 2: Estimating minimum crystal sizes.

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Cheng, S. Polymer crystals downsized. Nature 448, 1006–1007 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/4481006a

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