Liquid-state orientational precursors bias crystal polymorph nucleation.

Liquid-state orientational precursors with higher spatial coherence bias Cu, Al, and Lennard-Jones crystal polymorph nucleation, favoring symmetry-compatible structures.

• Why it matters: Understanding how crystals form from supercooled liquids is crucial because it challenges the traditional view that polymorph selection depends solely on free-energy stability, impacting material design and control.
• What they did: Molecular-dynamics simulations of supercooled Cu, Al, and Lennard-Jones liquids revealed that orientationally ordered precursor states influence nucleation, with greater coherence increasing the likelihood of specific polymorphs.
• The result: This work demonstrates that precursor symmetry and lifetime bias early-stage nucleation pathways, enabling better prediction and control of crystal polymorph formation beyond thermodynamic considerations.