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arXiv · 2312.05637

Microtube self-assembly leads to conformational freezing point depression

Tatiana Komarova·Thomas Zinn·Theyencheri Narayanan·Andrei V. Petukhov·Jasper Landman
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Abstract

Concentric microtubes of $\beta$-cyclodextrin and SDS grow from the outside in and melt from the inside out, we observe using in situ small angle X-ray scattering. We find that the conformation of the crystalline bilayer affects the saturation concentration, providing an example of a phenomenon we call conformational freezing point depression. We propose a model based on freezing point depression, well known from undergraduate physics, and use it to explain the energetics of this hierarchical system, and giving access to material properties without free parameters.

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Tatiana Komarova, Thomas Zinn, Theyencheri Narayanan, Andrei V. Petukhov, Jasper Landman. 2023-12-09. Microtube self-assembly leads to conformational freezing point depression. https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.05637

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