{
  "abstract": "The ability to program the shape of single crystals through molten-state processing has transformed the manufacturing of inorganic materials, yet this strategy is fundamentally incompatible with most organic-based crystals, which decompose before melting. Here, we show that a non-classical crystallization pathway can overcome this limitation by generating a moldable dense-liquid intermediate during the growth of peptide-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). By engineering a reaction environment in which precursor concentration and reagent diffusion are controlled while suppressing convection, we selectively activate a liquid-liquid phase separation process to produce a confined dense-liquid phase that can be shaped prior to crystallization. Repeated diffusion-limited chemical perturbations subsequently transform this intermediate into single crystals that faithfully preserve the geometry of the confined environment in which they form, enabling non-equilibrium morphologies inaccessible by conventional synthesis. We further show that crystal shape influences mechanical properties, demonstrating that controlling crystallization pathways provides a route to tailor function without altering chemical composition.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Institut de Química Teòrica i Computacional",
    "University of Barcelona (UB)",
    "Departament de Ciència dels Materials i Química Física",
    "Faculty of Engineering",
    "CEFT - Transport Phenomena Research Center, ALiCE - Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, University of Porto",
    "Departament de Fisica Aplicada, Universitat de Barcelona, IN2UB, Barcelona, Spain, 08028",
    "Department of Electronic and Biomedical Engineering",
    "Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC)",
    "Departament de Química Inorgànica i Orgànica, (Secció de Química Inorgànica",
    "Departament de Química Inorgànica i Orgànica, (Secció de Química Orgànica",
    "Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems",
    "Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, ETH Zürich",
    "Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA)"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 13,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Thao Nguyen",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1592-5324"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "João Pedro Vale",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2836-1057"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Oriol Arteaga",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9015-0237"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        1,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Annalisa Calò",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3922-4162"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "James D. Nicholas",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8906-6337"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        8
      ],
      "name": "Roc Matheu",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8601-5219"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Mario Palacios-Corella",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6480-1569"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Andriu Cavegn"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Maria Guix",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5219-6434"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Alessandro Sorrenti",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3039-2944"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        10,
        11
      ],
      "name": "Salvador Pané",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0147-8287"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Tiago Sotto Mayor",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8779-1033"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2,
        12
      ],
      "name": "Josep Puigmartí-Luis",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7510-9815"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bgj2s12wh9ng6.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15009961/v1",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "bgj2s12wh9ng6",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009961/v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1604|Metal-Organic Frameworks: Synthesis and Applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220705051",
  "pdf_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/pdf/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009961/v1",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-06",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bgj2s12wh9ng6.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:22Z",
      "native_id": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15009961",
      "source": "chemrxiv",
      "url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009961/v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1604|Metal-Organic Frameworks: Synthesis and Applications",
      "subfield": "inorganic"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Shaping single crystals through a controlled non-classical crystallization pathway",
  "title_text": "Shaping single crystals through a controlled non-classical crystallization pathway",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:22Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bgj2s12wh9ng6",
  "venue": "ChemRxiv",
  "versions": []
}