Nucleation, growth and polymorphic transitions play a key role in the definition of bulk and surface properties of molecular materials. These processes are characterised by events unfolding at the molecular scale. Understanding the thermodynamics, kinetics and mechanisms of such events is therefore key to rationally develop advanced material synthesis processes.

Molecular dynamics simulations, while providing a straightforward description of the relevant length scale, suffer from timescale and finite-size limitations. In this seminar I will introduce strategies suitable to tackle these challenges. Examples drawn from a diverse set of systems including urea in solution, carbon dioxide under pressure, and non-covalent supramolecular fibres will be discussed.