Journal Article
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 114, iss. 29, pp. 7537-7542, 2017
Authors
Dongsheng Li, Jaehun Chun, Dongdong Xiao, Weijiang Zhou, Huacheng Cai, Lei Zhang, Kevin M. Rosso, Christopher J. Mundy, Gregory K. Schenter, James J. De Yoreo
Abstract
Significance
Crystal growth through nanoparticle assembly appears to be a common phenomenon in synthetic, biological, and geochemical settings, and can lead to formation of hierarchical structures with unique properties tied to this nonclassical assembly process, but the underlying forces driving assembly are poorly understood. Using custom-made single-crystal atomic force microscopy tips, we measured the adhesion force between mica surfaces in the solvent-separate regime as a function of crystallographic orientation and solution parameters. The observed dependencies are predicted using a continuum description of the electrostatic and electrodynamic interactions that includes short-range molecular details. The findings show that the attractive interaction driving nanoparticle assembly and orientation results from the coupling between the short-range solution response and the long-range van der Waals interactions.
