van der Waals interactions between nanotubes and nanoparticles for controlled assembly of composite nanostructures

Graham A Rance; Dan H Marsh; Stephen J Bourne; Thomas J Reade; Andrei N Khlobystov

doi:10.1021/nn101287u

van der Waals interactions between nanotubes and nanoparticles for controlled assembly of composite nanostructures

ACS Nano. 2010 Aug 24;4(8):4920-8. doi: 10.1021/nn101287u.

Authors

Graham A Rance¹, Dan H Marsh, Stephen J Bourne, Thomas J Reade, Andrei N Khlobystov

Affiliation

¹ School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom.

PMID: 20684572
DOI: 10.1021/nn101287u

Abstract

We have demonstrated that ubiquitous van der Waals forces are significant in controlling the interactions between nanoparticles and nanotubes. The adsorption of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on nanotubes (MWNTs) obeys a simple quadratic dependence on the nanotube surface area, regardless of the source of AuNPs and MWNTs. Changes in the geometric parameters of the components have pronounced effects on the affinity of nanoparticles for nanotubes, with larger, more polarizable nanostructures exhibiting stronger attractive interactions, the impact of which changes in the following order MWNT diameter > AuNP diameter > MWNT length.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't