Polymer Brushes Synthesized by the "Grafting-through" Approach: Characterization and Scaling Analysis.

In this study, a combined morphological and scaling analysis of brushes synthesized by the "grafting-through" method was performed, and the possibility of regulation of the thickness was revealed on an example of polyacrylamide brushes. The chemical composition of the surface in the proposed three-step approach was analyzed by photoelectron and infrared spectroscopy. It was shown that the thickness of the dried brush can be tuned in a controlled manner by varying the polymerization temperature.

Effects of Structural Relaxation of Glass-Forming Melts on the Overall Crystallization Kinetics in Cooling and Heating.

In the theoretical treatment of crystallization, it is commonly assumed that the relaxation processes of a liquid proceed quickly as compared to crystal nucleation and growth processes. Actually, it is supposed that a liquid is always located in the metastable state corresponding to the current values of pressure and temperature. However, near and below the glass transition temperature, Tg, this condition is commonly not fulfilled.

Kinetics of Precipitation Processes at Non-Zero Input Fluxes of Segregating Particles.

We consider the process of formation and growth of clusters of a new phase in segregation processes in solid or liquid solutions in an open system when segregating particles are added continuously to it with a given rate of input fluxes, Φ. As shown here, the value of the input flux significantly affects the number of supercritical clusters formed, their growth kinetics, and, in particular, the coarsening behavior in the late stages of the process. The detailed specification of the respective dependencies is the aim of the present analysis, which combines numerical computations with an analytical treatment of the obtained results.

Effects of Glass Transition and Structural Relaxation on Crystal Nucleation: Theoretical Description and Model Analysis.

In the application of classical nucleation theory (CNT) and all other theoretical models of crystallization of liquids and glasses it is always assumed that nucleation proceeds only after the supercooled liquid or the glass have completed structural relaxation processes towards the metastable equilibrium state. Only employing such an assumption, the thermodynamic driving force of crystallization and the surface tension can be determined in the way it is commonly performed. The present paper is devoted to the theoretical treatment of a different situation, when nucleation proceeds concomitantly with structural relaxation.

Reply to "Comment on 'Glass Transition, Crystallization of Glass-Forming Melts, and Entropy"' by Zanotto and Mauro.

A response is given to a comment of Zanotto and Mauro on our paper published in Entropy , 103 (2018). Our arguments presented in this paper are widely ignored by them, and no new considerations are outlined in the comment, which would require a revision of our conclusions. For this reason, we restrict ourselves here to a brief response, supplementing it by some additional arguments in favor of our point of view not included in our above-cited paper.