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Hypothesis Analytical expressions for calculating Hamaker constant (HC) and van der Waals (VDW) energy/force for interaction of a particle with a solid water interface has been reported for over eighty years. This work further developed novel analytical expressions and numerical approaches for determining HC and VDW interaction energy/force for the particle approaching and penetrating air-water interface (AWI), respectively. Methods The expressions of HC and VDW interaction energy/force before penetrating were developed through analysis of the variation in free energy of the interaction system with bringing the particle from infinity to the vicinity of the AWI. The surface element integration (SEI) technique was modified to calculate VDW energy/force after penetrating. Findings We explain why repulsive VDW energy exists inhibiting the particle from approaching the AWI. We found very significant VDW repulsion for a particle at a concave AWI after penetration, which can even exceed the capillary force and cause strong retention in water films on a solid surface and at air-water-solid interface line. The methods and findings of this work are critical to quantification and understanding of a variety of engineered processes such as particle manipulation (e.g., bubble flotation, Pickering emulsion, and particle laden interfaces).

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors show novel electronic and optoelectronic applications due to their excellent performance. The van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures are also a new method for the design of low dimensional optoelectronic devices. However, their fundamental electronic structure and optical properties are sensitive to stacking configurations. Herein, we perform systematic first-principle calculations for monolayer GaN and ZnO by six different stacking styles. The results suggest that the bonding type and stability vary with the stacking method. Chemical bonding and vdW interaction are respectively observed in different models. However, the carrier mobilities for different models are all enhanced after integration. Both type I and II band alignment can be generated from different stacking models. The optical properties suggest high absorptivity in the solar-blind region. This study is an early stage for the design and synthesis of photodetectors or solar cells based on 2D GaN/ZnO heterojunctions and also opens a far-ranging research interest in optoelectronic materials and devices with more advanced semiconductor materials.

Exploiting highly-efficient and metal-free photocatalyst for CO2 conversion into useful chemicals is a promising pathway to solve the energy and environmental crises. In this work, through a facile exfoliation process, an ultra-thin and short-range order g-C3N4 nanosheet with rich terminal oxygen defects is successfully constructed, which presents total electron yield of 36.30 μmol g-1h−1, 3.05 times higher than that of bulk one. The results affirms that both the van der Waals forces between the C3N4 layers and the C N bonds on the periodic heptazine units could be disrupted during the sonication process, thus achieving the ultra-thin and ultra-small g-C3N4 nanosheet, which enables the improvement of optical absorption and carrier separation abilities. The π-conjugated triazine rings structure is still remained but the terminal active C radicals tend to transform into oxygen defects which become the sites to bind and activate CO2. The in-situ DRIFTS provides the direct evidence that the size regulation and oxygen-defects design strategy can effectively promote the CO2 adsorption and activation process upon the photocatalyst, thus turning out to boost the reactivity toward CO2.

Hypothesis High and medium internal phase Pickering emulsions stabilized with cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) exhibited very different performance compared to their peers stabilized with a surfactant. In this paper, we ascribed the difference to the formation of hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions between the CNC nanoparticles on adjacent oil droplets. Experiments Rheological properties of CNC-stabilized oil-in-water medium internal phase emulsions (MIPEs, oil content = 65% v/v) and high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs, oil content = 80% v/v) were comprehensively characterized using both oscillatory and rotational tests. Findings It was found that in the MIPEs, the van der Waals and hydrogen bonding interactions dominate the emulsion properties, whereas the compact structure of oil droplets plays a more important role in the HIPEs. CNC concentration in the aqueous phase also affects the emulsion properties, especially for the HIPEs, and the results can be correlated to the stabilization mechanisms we previously reported. The information from these tests provides a much-needed guidance for the practical application of CNC-stabilized emulsions.

Hypothesis Wettability effect has long been a concern in various aqueous lubrication systems including biological and industrial applications. The wettability may affect lubrication performance by changing interfacial viscosity or hydration force. The key point to reveal the mechanism is to design an ideal experimental system to exclude other bulk factors other than surface wettability. Experiments In this work, silicon surfaces with different treatments were used to study the single factor effect of wettability on aqueous lubrication. The normal and friction forces of these surfaces were quantified by atomic force microscopy (AFM) in water environment. The interfacial viscosity was evaluated according to the probe dynamic approaching process. Macroscale and microscale lubrication experiments of other materials were also conducted as verification and supplement. Findings A semi-quantitative relationship between friction and wettability was revealed and attributed to the competition between the attractive van der Waals interactions and wettability-dependent repulsive hydration interaction, which determined the strength of the adhesive interaction and dominated the sliding energy dissipation. The contribution of viscous effect of water was considered to be relatively minor. The findings provide an in-depth understanding of aqueous lubrication and outline important guidelines for tuning adhesion and friction.

Hypothesis Interaction of cellular membranes with biointerfaces is of vital importance for a number of medical devices and implants. Adhesiveness of these surfaces and cells is often regulated by depositing a layer of bovine serum albumin (BSA) or other protein coatings. However, anomalously large separations between phospholipid membranes and the biointerfaces in various conditions and buffers have been observed, which could not be understood using available theoretical arguments. Methods Using the Lifshitz theory, we here evaluate the distance-dependent Hamaker coefficient describing the dispersion interaction between a biointerface and a membrane to understand the relative positioning of two surfaces. Our theoretical modeling is supported by experiments where the biointerface is represented by a glass substrate with deposited BSA and protein layers. These biointerfaces are allowed to interact with giant unilamellar vesicles decorated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) using PEG lipids to mimic cellular membranes and their pericellular coat. Results We demonstrate that careful treatment of the van der Waals interactions is critical for explaining the lack of adhesiveness of the membranes with protein-decorated biointerfaces. We show that BSA alone indeed passivates the glass, but depositing an additional protein layer on the surface BSA, or producing multiple layers of proteins and BSA results in repulsive dispersion forces responsible for 100 nm large equilibrium separations between the two surfaces.

We present a theory of the adsorption behaviour and phase transitions in monolayers of perfluoroalkylated alcohols, n-C n F 2 n + 1 C m H 2 m OH , at the water∣oil interface, and validate it for a range of temperatures and surfactant structures. The reason for the observed cohesive behaviour is identified as dispersion attraction between the fluorocarbon blocks. The London constant is determined from the increment of the lateral attraction parameter with the size of the fluorocarbon chain. The monolayers exhibit phase transition from liquid expanded state to van der Waals crystal. However, they are supercritical with respect to the gas–liquid transition. For the description of the liquid phase, we use the sticky disc model – fluid monolayer made of hard discs interacting with a short-ranged sticky potential. For the crystalline phase, a two-dimensional cell model is developed using the same interaction potential. This new model coincides with the empirical equation of state of Jura and Harkins, and ascribes physical meaning to its parameters. We extend the theory of Ivanov et al. for the adsorption constant K a to diblock molecules; it predicts accurately the dependence of K a and the adsorption heat on the surfactant structure. An invariant phase diagram of the monolayers is constructed.

The van der Waals (vdW) integration enables to create heterostructures with intimate contact and bring new opportunities. However, it is not confined to layered materials but can also be generally extended to 3D materials. Multidimensional Bi2O3/BiVO4@graphene oxide (GO) van der Waals heterostructures are synthesized by one-pot wet chemistry method. Bi2O3/BiVO4 composite nanoparticles are self-assembled with GO framework by vdW interaction to form vdW heterostructures, in which GO framework allows short electron transport distance and rapid charge transfer and provides massive reactive sites. Such self-assembled heterostructures show a superior high photoactivity towards oxygen evolution with an enhanced oxygen generation rate of 1828 µmol h−1 g−1, nearly 3 times than that of pure BiVO4, attributed to the accelerated charge separation and transfer processes of Bi2O3/BiVO4@GO vdW heterostructures. This study indicates that our strategy provides a new avenue towards fabricating multi-dimensional vdW heterostructures and inspiring more innovative insights in oxygen evolution field.

The oxide-based hybrid photocatalysts, especially TiO2-based, have attracted tremendous attentions because of their prominent photocatalytic performance. Currently, theoretical understandings on the relationship between the interface of TiO2-based heterostructures and their photocatalytic activity are still lacking. Here we systematically investigated the effects of interface structure on electronic properties of the g-C3N4/TiO2 heterostructure using density functional theory (DFT) calculation. The interaction between monolayer g-C3N4 and TiO2 surface [with Anatase (1 0 1)/(0 0 1) facet] was explored, where a van der Waals heterojunction is formed. The presence of oxygen vacancy, nitrogen doping and hydrogen passivation on TiO2 surface is found to dramatically alter the electronic properties of g-C3N4/TiO2 heterostructure. Furthermore, the enhanced separation of electron − hole pairs and inhibited carrier recombination in the g-C3N4/TiO2 interface was analyzed based on the Bader charge analysis and charge density difference. The theoretical analysis revealed that oxygen vacancy and hydrogen passivation on TiO2 A001 surface induces the more significant charge separation, which may be the origin of enhanced photocatalytic efficiency of the g-C3N4/TiO2 heterostructures.

Hypothesis Highly hydrophilic nanoparticles are generally considered not suitable for stabilizing Pickering emulsions, since they could not be effectively wetted by the oil phase at the water-oil interface. However, highly hydrophilic nanoparticles with good dispersity are possibly absorbed and packed onto the surface of the oil droplets in water via the van der Waals attraction between the nanoparticles and the oil droplets. Hence, a novel “van der Waals emulsion” should be possible to be stabilized by highly hydrophilic nanoparticles. Experiments Oil-in-water emulsions solely stabilized by pristine TiO2 nanoparticles (i.e., TiO2 without any modification or additives) were prepared. The emulsification behavior under varying pH value, oil fraction, particle content and temperature of the emulsion were explored. Composite wax-based beads which encapsulated chemical sunscreen and was coated by TiO2 nanoparticles, was also fabricated using the obtained emulsion as the templates. Findings The emulsions displayed the highest stability near the isoelectric points of the TiO2 nanoparticles, which was attributed to the van der Waals attraction between TiO2 nanoparticles and oil droplets. Such mechanism was supported by a theoretical analysis based on calculation of the Hamaker constants and experimental evidences. Therefore, this work presents a simple, general and green method for preparing particle-stabilized emulsions.

Hypothesis: As a fluid approaches three phase coexistence, adsorption may take place by the successive formation of two intervening wetting films. The equilibrium thickness of these wetting layers is the result of a delicate balance of intermolecular forces, as dictated by an underlying interface potential. The van der Waals forces for the two variable adsorption layers may be formulated exactly from Dzyaloshinskii-Lifshitz-Pitaevskii theory, and analytical approximations may be derived that extent well beyond the validity of conventional Hamaker theory. Calculations: We consider the adsorption equilibrium of water vapor on Silver Iodide where both ice and a water layers can form simultaneously and compete for the vapor as the triple point is approached. We perform numerical calculations of Lifshitz theory for this complex system and work out analytical approximations which provide quantitative agreement with the numerical results. Findings: At the three phase contact line between AgI/water/air, surface forces promote growth of ice both on the AgI/air and the water/vapor interfaces, lending support to a contact nucleation mode of AgI in the atmosphere. Our approach provides a framework for the description of adsorption at three phase coexistence, and allows for the study of ice nucleation efficiency on atmospheric aerosols., Accepted Manuscript

Directed self-assembly uses different stimuli to initiate and control the interaction between nanocrystals. Protonation at reduced pH represents a convenient stimulus for initiating self-assembly. Prior work has focused on protonation-induced hydrogen bonding between peptide or amino acid functionalized nanocrystals for reversible cycling between dispersed and aggregated states. Here, we discuss a fundamentally different approach, in which changes in pH modify the nonspecific interparticle interaction between Au nanorods conjugated with single-stranded (ss) DNA. While electrostatic repulsion stabilizes dispersed suspensions at neutral pH, protonation in acidic solution modifies the DNA corona, turning the interaction between the rods attractive and triggering their self-assembly. Analysis of in-situ electron microscopy of ssDNA-Au nanorods in solution is consistent with a van der Waals attraction of charge-neutral monomers at acidic pH. The results demonstrate ssDNA-conjugated anisotropic nanostructures as versatile building blocks with stimuli-programmable interactions for on-demand self-assembly.

Controlling the viscosity of concentrated protein solutions – usually reducing – is an open challenge, with major recent relevance in protein formulations for biopharmaceutical, medical, food, and other applications. The addition of viscosity-reducing additives generally not only changes the viscosity of the protein solutions but also the actual secondary/tertiary structure of the proteins, which is usually highly undesirable, and can be even toxic in systems, such as for biopharmaceutical applications. Therefore, it is of major importance to be able to establish control over the combination of viscosity-affecting additives and adequate protein stability, usually at high protein concentrations. Here, we demonstrate the control and manipulation of the viscosity profile of a selected protein solution (monoclonal antibody of immunoglobulin gamma type IgG) of direct biopharmaceutical relevance, by identifying elementary viscosity contributions via selected additives that target different protein–protein interactions. Specifically, a combined study of viscosity control and protein aggregation is performed with viscosity characterized by microfluidic measurements and protein aggregation by size-exclusion chromatography, where aggregation data is further supplemented with conformational stability measurements via thermal and chemical protein denaturation. A dissection of contributions to total viscosity – steric, electrostatic, hydrophobic, van der Waals – is performed. A novel mechanism of the impact of electrostatic interactions on the viscosity of IgG solutions is proposed based on interacting charged protein patches subjected to orientational alignment under flow birefringence. More generally, we show a control over the interplay of viscosity, potency and stability in a distinct protein system, as a general contribution to understanding the viscosity in different colloidal, biological, and soft materials.

Thin polymeric coatings are commonly used for altering surface properties and modulating the interfacial performance of materials. Possible contributions from the substrate to the interfacial forces and effects are, however, usually ignored and are not well understood, nor is it established how the coating thickness modulates and eventually eliminates contributions from substrates to the van der Waals (vdW) interfacial force. In this study we quantified, by colloid-probe atomic force microscope (AFM) and by theoretical calculations, the interfacial vdW contributions from substrates acting through ethanol plasma polymer (EtOHpp) coatings of a range of thicknesses on Au and Si bulk materials. In approach force curves against EtOHpp-coated Au substrates the magnitude of the vdW force decreased as the EtOHpp coating thickness increased to 18 nm and then plateaued with further increases in coating thickness, providing direct evidence for a contribution to the total interfacial vdW force from the Au substrate acting through thin coatings. The experimental observations accord with theoretical calculations of the thickness dependence of Hamaker coefficients derived from rigorous simulation using the Lifshitz theory. In addition, the measured forces agree well with theoretical predictions including correction for finite roughness. Thus, our experimental and theoretical results establish how the thickness of polymer thin film coatings modulates the total interfacial vdW force and how this can be used to tune the net vdW force so as to either contain a large substrate contribution or arise predominantly from the polymeric overlayer. Our findings enable rational design of coating thickness to tailor interfacial interactions and material performance. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Innovations in surfactant structures are a feasible way to prepare unique molecular aggregates with interesting properties. Herein, taking dehydroabietic acid as the starting material, a new amine oxide surfactant, abbreviated as R-8-AO, was synthesized. Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) images and circular dichroism (CD) spectra reveal that at suitable concentrations, R-8-AO molecules form rarely discovered right-handed chiral wormlike micelles, which have a cross-sectional diameter of 5–6 nm. The overlap concentration of R-8-AO is approximately 8 mM, above which the wormlike micelles began to entangle in solutions. Due to the strong van der Waals forces between R-8-AO molecules, the scaling law gives an exponent of 7.88, which is higher than the theory predicted value. Gold nanoparticles were synthesized in-situ by irradiating mixed solutions of HAuCl4 and wormlike micelles formed by R-8-AO with UV light. These ultrasmall spherical gold nanoparticles, which are located at the surface of wormlike micelles, have a uniform particle size of 3 ± 1 nm, as observed by TEM. In addition, the gold nanoparticles form a worm-like morphology induced by the wormlike micelles, showing soft-aggregate-directed nanoparticle assembly. This work is first to reveal the effectiveness of preparing ultrasmall gold nanoparticles with new morphological wormlike micelles as soft templates. The resulting organic-inorganic hybrid aggregates are also expected to find applications in catalysis and electronic fields.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are a tailorable class of solvents that are rapidly gaining scientific and industrial interest. This is because they are distinct from conventional molecular solvents, inherently tuneable via careful selection of constituents, and possess many attractive properties for applications, including catalysis, chemical extraction, reaction media, novel lubricants, materials chemistry, and electrochemistry. DESs are a class of solvents composed solely of hydrogen bond donors and acceptors with a melting point lower than the individual components and are often fluidic at room temperature. A unique feature of DESs is that they possess distinct bulk liquid and interfacial nanostructure, which results from intra- and inter-molecular interactions, including coulomb forces, hydrogen bonding, van der Waals interactions, electrostatics, dispersion forces, and apolar-polar segregation. This nanostructure manifests as preferential spatial arrangements of the different species, and exists over several length scales, from molecular- to nano- and meso-scales. The physicochemical properties of DESs are dictated by structure–property relationships; however, there is a significant gap in our understanding of the underlying factors which govern their solvent properties. This is a major limitation of DES-based technologies, as nanostructure can significantly influence physical properties and thus potential applications. This perspective provides an overview of the current state of knowledge of DES nanostructure, both in the bulk liquid and at solid interfaces. We provide definitions which clearly distinguish DESs as a unique solvent class, rather than a subset of ILs. An appraisal of recent work provides hints towards trends in structure–property relationships, while also highlighting inconsistencies within the literature suggesting new research directions for the field. It is hoped that this review will provide insight into DES nanostructure, their potential applications, and development of a robust framework for systematic investigation moving forward.

The electronic and optical properties of finite silicene, graphene, and arsenene heterostructures are investigated using first principles calculations. The optoelectronic properties of these structures are precisely controlled, by chemical functionalization, shape, and size, to produce suitable donor energy gap and minimal conduction band offset that enable the construction of efficient heterojunction solar cells. Heterojunctions with only Van der Waals interactions between layers have been achieved in functionalized silicene/graphene and arsenene/graphene. The distribution of the highest occupied/lowest unoccupied molecular orbital on donor/acceptor layer in addition to the contribution of each layer into the total electronic density of states insure that the only interlayer interaction is the van der Waals one and charge separation is attained. The heterojunctions have donors’ energy gaps ranging from 1.2 to 1.8 eV which in conjunction with the very low conduction band offset ∼ 0.002 eV enable the building of type-II solar cells with extremely high power conversion efficiency up to 23.34%. The prominent low energy optical excitations are mainly contributed by a transition from donor molecular orbitals to acceptor ones. Therefore, functionalized 2D heterojunctions are excellent candidates for building ultrathin, stable, and low-cost efficient solar cells.

Kinetic Monte Carlo simulated isotherms calculated in the canonical ensemble, at temperatures below the critical temperature, for bulk fluid, surface adsorption and adsorption in a confined space, show a van der Waals (vdW) loop with a vertical phase transition between the rarefied and dense spinodal points at the co-existence chemical potential, µco. Microscopic examination of the state points on this loop reveals features that are common to these systems. At state points with chemical potentials greater than μco the microscopic configurations show clusters, which coalesce to form two co-existing phases along the vertical section of the loop (the coexistence line). As more molecules are added, the dense region expands at the expense of the rarefied region, to the point where the rarefied region becomes spherical (cylindrical for 2D-systems) with a curvature greater than that of the coexisting phases. This results in a decrease of chemical potential from µco to the liquid spinodal point where the rarefied region disappears. With a further increase in loading, the chemical potential and the density increase. The existence of a vdW loop is the microscopic reason for the hysteresis observed in the grand canonical isotherm, where the adsorption and desorption boundaries of the hysteresis loop are first-order transitions, enclosing the vertical section of the vdW loop of the canonical isotherm. However, a first-order transition is rarely observed in experiments where transitions are usually steep, but not vertical. From our extensive simulations, we provide two possible reasons: (1) the finite extent of the system and (2) the existence of high energy sites that localize the clusters. In the first case, the desorption branch, and in the second case the adsorption branch, either comes close to, or collapses onto the coexistence line. When both occur, the hysteresis loop disappears and the isotherm is reversible, as often observed experimentally.

Hypothesis The stability of colloidal suspensions can be influenced by supersaturation of the supporting electrolyte with gas. It has been proposed that this effect can be attributed to the formation of nanobubbles on the surface of the colloidal particles, in turn influencing DLVO forces. While previous interpretations have focused primarily on van der Waals interactions, probing positively charged particles can provide complementary insight into electrostatic interactions. Experiments High-power water electrolysis creates an aqueous solution supersaturated with oxygen and hydrogen. We study the ability of this solution to influence the electrophoretic properties of positive nanoparticles as a function of the particle-gas ratio. Both the ζ -potential and the effective hydrodynamic diameter of the resulting nanoentities were studied using dynamic light scattering for a range of nanoparticle sizes. Findings Gas-saturated solution interacts strongly with positive nanoparticles by decreasing and ultimately reversing the sign of their ζ -potential, which we attribute to the nucleation of negatively charged bubbles at the solid-liquid interface. This leads to re-entrant condensation of the particles near their point of zero charge, as directly observed via an increase in hydrodynamic diameter and macroscopic aggregation. These results indicate that modulation of electrostatic interactions can be the dominant mechanism for gas-particle interactions in these systems.

Nanomaterials stabilization in lube oils poses an acute challenge in nanolubricants/nanofluids formulation. This study aims to improve the dispersion stability of copper (Cu) nanomaterials in polyalphaolefin-6 (PAO6) oil to overcome the agglomeration/sedimentation problem. Here, we modified the surface of Cu nanomaterials using bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (IL) to enhance the electrostatic repulsion force in Cu nanomaterials. We evaluated the dispersion behavior of Cu nanolubricants by visual observation, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and zeta potential measurements. Furthermore, we determined the rheological and thermo-oxidation behavior of Cu nanolubricants using Brookfield viscometer, thermogravimetric, and Fourier transform infrared. Our experiments showed that dispersion stability depends on Cu concentration and settling time. IL demonstrated effective miscibility when blended with PAO6 oil and displayed non-Newtonian behavior. The results suggest that Cu modified by IL provides superior dispersion in PAO6 oil without sedimentation for 60 days, compared to unmodified Cu. Moreover, the hydrodynamic diameter of the modified Cu did not exceed 240 nm even after 60 days of preparation. The excellent dispersion behavior can be ascribed to the domination of the electrostatic repulsion forces over the inter-nanomaterials van der Waals interactions, which is related to the formation of the electrical adsorption layer on the Cu surface. The obtained colloidal dispersions have the potential to be utilized as green nanolubricants for lubricating tribological systems.

A simple and accurate closed-form expression for the Hamaker constant that best represents experimental surface force data is presented. Numerical comparisons are made with the current standard least squares approach, which falsely assumes error-free separation measurements, and a nonlinear version assuming independent measurements of force and separation are subject to error. The comparisons demonstrate that not only is the proposed formula easily implemented it is also considerably more accurate. This option is appropriate for any value of Hamaker constant, high or low, and certainly for any interacting system exhibiting an inverse square distance dependent van der Waals force. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Hypothesis Complex and coupled interaction between coagulation mechanisms results in a nonlinear variation of coagulation rate with shear rate. Calculations Coagulation behavior of colloidal dispersions is investigated in a laminar shear flow by solving the Fokker-Plank equation for pair probability density function, simultaneously incorporating the effect of (i) Brownian diffusion, (ii) fluid flow, (iii) van der Waals attraction and (iv) double layer repulsion force. Furthermore, analysis foremost studies the effect of non-DLVO solvation force. Findings Theoretical analysis with experimental validation reveals that, coagulation rate varies non-linearly with the shear rate in presence of double-layer repulsion force, due to the strong coupling of coagulation mechanisms. This is observed by an occurrence of coagulation minima at intermediate shear rate. Increase in double layer repulsion force either facilitates or hinders the occurrence of redistribution of particles, as observed by early or late fall of coagulation rate. Systems with different ionic strengths show a crossover of coagulation rates, whereas those with different solvation forces do not show similar trend. Analysis also shows that, ad hoc additivity assumption of individual Brownian and shear coagulation rates does not hold in case of laminar shear flow, against to that observed in extensional flow [Melis et al. (AIChE J., 999, 1383)].

Exfoliation and dispersion of two dimensional (2D) transition metal dichacogenides (TMDCs) such as MoS2 in water are highly demanded. In this paper, we exfoliate MoS2 nanosheets in pure water via ultrasonication and attempt to understand the exfoliation process and the dispersion behavior of hydrophobic MoS2. Cavitation-induced exfoliation leads to thinning and fragmentation of MoS2 flakes. Formation of mesoporous MoS2 sheets suggests that the exfoliation initiates from the basal planes. As for the dispersion of MoS2 nanosheets in water, we find that higher centrifugation rate and thus smaller lateral size, results in improved stability. This can be attributed to the enhanced edge effects. Fragmentation of MoS2 flakes generates many edges, to which hydrophilic and ionizable groups are attached. Herein, the edge effects include two aspects. On the one hand, edge-attached polar and hydrophilic groups promote interactions of MoS2 nanosheets with water molecules and result in better wettability, which can be explained by the hemi-wicking model. On the other hand, dissociation of these groups makes MoS2 sheets negatively charged. It is found that edge charge dominates. As the flake size reduces, attractive van der Waals force and hydrophobic force can be overcome by electrostatic repulsions, which prevent MoS2 nanosheets from aggregation. This study opens a new vista on exfoliating and dispersing hydrophobic 2D nanomaterials in water.

Hypothesis Surface effects arising from roughness and deformation can negatively affect the results of AFM contact experiments. Using the non-contact portion of an AFM deflection curve is therefore desirable for estimating the Hamaker constant, A, of a solid material. A previously validated non-contact quasi-dynamic method for estimating A is revisited, in which the cantilever tip is now always represented by an “effective sphere”. In addition to simplifying this previous method, accurate estimates of A can still be obtained even though precise knowledge of the nanoscale geometric features of the cantilever tip are no longer required. Experiments The tip’s “effective” radius of curvature, Reff, is determined from a “calibration” step, in which the tip’s deflection at first contact with the surface is measured for a substrate with a known Hamaker constant. After Reff is known for a given tip, estimates of A for other surfaces of interest are then determined. Findings An experimental study was conducted to validate the new method and the obtained results are in good agreement with predictions from the Lifshitz approximation, when available. Since Reff accounts for all geometric uncertainties of the tip through a single fitted parameter, no visual fitting of the tip shape was required.

Understanding the interaction between nanomaterials and biological interfaces is a key unmet goal that still hampers clinical translation of nanomedicine. Here we investigate and compare non-specific interaction of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with synthetic lipid and wild type macrophage membranes. A comprehensive data set was generated by systematically varying the structural and physicochemical properties of the AuNPs (size, shape, charge, surface functionalization) and of the synthetic membranes (composition, fluidity, bending properties and surface charge), which allowed to unveil the matching conditions for the interaction of the AuNPs with macrophage plasma membranes in vitro. This effort directly proved for the first time that synthetic bilayers can be set to mimic and predict with high fidelity key aspects of nanoparticle interaction with macrophage eukaryotic plasma membranes. It then allowed to model the experimental observations according to classical interface thermodynamics and in turn determine the paramount role played by non-specific contributions, primarily electrostatic, Van der Waals and bending energy, in driving nanoparticle-plasma membrane interactions.

Electrical double layer and van der Waals (DLVO) forces are known to determine the morphology of the deposit of colloidal particles following the evaporation of the carrier liquid. It is assumed that the adsorption of particles to the solid substrate and their coagulation in the liquid are the mechanisms connecting DLVO forces to the morphology of the deposit. We use theory to test this assertion. We model the deposition of particles from a volatile drop while accounting for the contribution of adhesion and coagulation. The rate of both mechanisms is connected to DLVO forces via the interaction-force boundary layer and the Smoluchowski theorems, respectively. We present analytical solutions for the morphology of the deposit, accounting for particle adsorption and pair-limited coagulation, and a corresponding numerical analysis for the case where particle adhesion and coagulation are concurrent. We conclude that larger aggregates of particles are found near the edge of the drop at the expense of the smaller ones in the absence of adhesion. The adhesion of particles to the substrate smears the deposit, rendering large aggregates to appear near the center of the drop. The analysis is in agreement with a previous experiment when accounting for the corresponding DLVO forces.

Stimuli-response magnetic hydrogels were prepared in the mixtures of magnetic surfactants, (CnTAFB(C), n=12, 14, 16), and chiral amphiphiles, sodium cholate (SC). The gelation behavior of CnTAFB(C)/SC were studied in detail. The results proved that the hydrophobicity of surfactants and the hydration radius (Rh) of anions played a vital role in the gelation process. The microstructure of the hydrogels were determined to be three-dimensional network of fibrous aggregates. The formation of the hydrogel fibrils was considered to be mainly driven by a delicate balance of multiple non-covalent interactions including hydrophobic interaction, electrostatic interaction, hydrogen bonding, van der Waals force, and the steric effect of SC molecule. Rheological measurements demonstrated that the hydrogels are high mechanical strength materials (the yield stress exceeding 2000Pa). The mechanical strength of the hydrogels is dependent on the fiber density, which can be regulated by changing the proportion of the two compounds, the total concentration and the chain length of the surfactants. The magnetic hydrogels of C12TAFB/SC mixtures served as the precursors for preparing cubic Fe3O4 nanoparticles with the diameter of 7.2nm. The as-prepared Fe3O4 nanoparticles exhibit excellent ferromagnetic characteristic and high peroxidase-like activity and can be used as biosensor for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and glucose detection. We developed a convenient and green method for preparing Fe3O4 nanoparticles, which can be used as a promising candidate biosensor for glucose detection.

With increased interest in graphene-based sensors for biomolecules and other targets, we investigated the impact of ionic strength on the steady-state emissions from fluorescein labels on proteins adsorbing on pristine CVD (chemical vapor deposited)-graphene on a silica support. Using the model system of fluorescein-tagged fibrinogen we demonstrated that, for fluorescein tags on adsorbed fibrinogen, emission intensity was very sensitive to the salt concentration. This behavior was not seen for fluorescein-tagged fibrinogen in solution. We demonstrated that fluorescein “quenching” in this system was a result of fluorescein’s pH sensitivity: with changes in salt concentration, near-surface fluorescein experiences either the neutral bulk pH or, with a negatively charged surface, an acidic environment. The findings carry the important implication that the aqueous environment near silica-supported graphene is substantially acidic as a result of near-surface negative charge. This further implies, because of the purity of the graphene in this study and its lack of oxidation, that negative charge arises from ion adsorption and/or from the underlying silica support, which may be hydrated and present dissociated surface silanols. That is, the electrostatic potential from silica beneath the graphene may pass through the graphene, much as van der Waals interactions have been proven to do. Results were semi-quantitatively consistent with calculations that employed a Guoy Chapman model of the interface and the established pKa of the fluorescein. While these findings were obtained with adsorbed proteins, similar fluorescence quenching would be expected for any fluorescein-tagged species in the vicinity of silica-supported graphene. Thus, because of the negative charge at the aqueous graphene interface, ionic strength can be exploited as means of creating a molecular ruler of fluorescein emissions, and the emissions can be assessed within different distances, corresponding to the Debye length, from the graphene interface.

The aim of this paper is to present a method for predicting the effect of temperature on contact angles and wetting transitions for n-alkanes on PTFE. The analysis is based on the effect of temperature on two closely related phenomena, which are critical in the determination of contact angles: intermolecular forces and the thickness of an adsorbed film in the region adjacent to the three-phase contact. Considering solely van der Waals forces, it is possible to reproduce the experimental temperature dependence of contact angles. At low temperature values, contact angles show a small and linear decrease with temperature. For higher temperature values, substantially larger decreases are exhibited by the more volatile alkanes. In the case of n-octane, a single transition from partial to total wetting is found at 443K. This transition, which arises from the vanishing of the effective Hamaker constant at 430K, is characterized by a surface specific heat exponent close to one, indicating the existence of a first order wetting transition. For the less volatile alkanes, the contact angle decrease is progressively less pronounced as the volatility decreases in such a way that for n-hexadecane the contact angle remains approximately constant throughout the temperature range under study.

Hypothesis Accessing the phase inversion temperature by microwave heating may enable the rapid synthesis of small lipid nanoparticles. Experiments Nanoparticle formulations consisted of surfactants Brij 78 and Vitamin E TPGS, and trilaurin, trimyristin, or miglyol 812 as nanoparticle lipid cores. Each formulation was placed in water and heated by microwave irradiation at temperatures ranging from 65 °C to 245 °C. We observed a phase inversion temperature (PIT) for these formulations based on a dramatic decrease in particle Z-average diameters. Subsequently, nanoparticles were manufactured above and below the PIT and studied for (a) stability toward dilution, (b) stability over time, (c) fabrication as a function of reaction time, and (d) transmittance of lipid nanoparticle dispersions. Findings Lipid-based nanoparticles with distinct sizes down to 20–30 nm and low polydispersity could be attained by a simple, one-pot microwave synthesis. This was carried out by accessing the phase inversion temperature using microwave heating. Nanoparticles could be synthesized in just one minute and select compositions demonstrated high stability. The notable stability of these particles may be explained by the combination of van der Waals interactions and steric repulsion. 20–30 nm nanoparticles were found to be optically transparent.

The microstructure of organogels based on monoglycerides of fatty acids (MAGs) and policosanol and on different edible oils was investigated by using different techniques (calorimetry, nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared spectroscopy, rheology, polarized light microscopy) towards a better understanding and control of the oil gelation phenomena. Dynamic moduli were related via a fractal model to microstructural information such as solid content and fractal dimension. Infrared spectroscopy evidenced that network structure in MAGs gel is mainly due to hydrogen bonding, whereas in policosanol system is mainly given by van der Waals interactions. Because of the different relative contribution of molecular interactions, the investigated organogelators exhibit a distinguished macroscopic behavior. MAGs are sensitive to the utilized oil and structuration occurs quickly, even though at a temperature lower than policosanol. Policosanol organogels exhibit a behavior independent of the used oil and a slower gelation rate, as a result of the weaker van der Waals interactions. Nevertheless, at lower concentration a stronger final gel is obtained, probably due to of the large number of interactions arising among the long alkyl chains of the fatty alcohols. Obtained results evidenced that policosanol is very effective in gelation of different oils and seems promising for potential commercial uses.

Interfaces play an important and often limiting role in the mechanical, thermal, and electrical performance of composite materials. Here we suggest a novel method to improve the interfacial interaction in polypropylene-alumina composites using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) to nucleate lamellar crystals at the interface. Macroscopic alumina substrates are used to determine the ideal crystallization parameters and investigate the kinetics of crystal growth. SWNTs are uniformly adsorbed to the interface via Van der Waals interactions and lamellar crystals are grown on the surface using isothermal solution processing techniques. Avrami analysis of crystal surface coverage was used to confirm one-dimensional transcrystalline growth commonly seen with SWNT nucleated crystals. Scanning electron microscopy was used to confirm shish-kebab structures present at the SWNT-polypropylene interface. The determined crystallization parameters were used on colloidal solutions of alumina platelets to successfully create uniformly coated particles with an improved interface. This method shows promise for improving the interphase of semicrystalline polymer-ceramic composites to achieve excellent material properties.

The experiment used cationic surfactants of different chain lengths to intercalate structure modified vermiculites. The influences of structure modification, chain length and dosage of surfactants on the intercalation behavior of vermiculites were studied, and intercalation mechanism and features of interlayer chemical reactions were discussed. Results indicate that structure modified vermiculites with different layer charge have different intercalation behavior. The basal spacing of the organic intercalated modified vermiculite is the largest when acid concentration used in structure modification is 0.003 mol/L, and increases with increasing the chain length and dosage of the organics. Molecular dynamics simulation verifies that interlayer organics align almost parallel to structure layer of vermiculite, with alkyl chain stretching to the middle of interlayer space. -N(+) groups of the three surfactants locate above the leached [SiO4], which has stronger interaction with interlayer organic cations. Electrostatic force is the main interaction force between interlayer organics and structure layer of vermiculite, and then is Van der Waals force, no chemical bond formed.

Low-molecular-mass gelators and relevant molecular gels have been employed for water purification owing to their convenience and efficiency, but the process is time consuming due to low extraction efficiency originated from limited contact of the two phases. In this work, two novel di-cholesterol-based gelators, 1 and 2, with a ferrocenyl unit were synthesized and the gels based on 2 possess a smart thixotropic property. In particular, 2/heptane gel, the shear force induced phase transition is fast (within seconds) and fully reversible without the need of heating-cooling cycle. Based upon the thixotropic molecular gel, a novel separation strategy, which combines the great efficiency of liquid-liquid extraction and the convenience of liquid-solid separation, has been successfully conducted for removing iodine from wastewater. It was demonstrated that iodine was removed within several minutes and the extraction efficiency (72%) was the same with the one using corresponding liquid. Furthermore, 2/heptane gel is also responsive to chemical oxidation and variation in temperature. FTIR, NMR, CD and XRD studies revealed that helical fibers were formed via intermolecular hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interaction. It is believed that the results presented in this work are of importance for extending real-life applications of molecular gels.

The formation of a nanofiber morphology at the mesoscopic scale and the molecular-level packing of a gemini-type amphiphilic diamide derivative with two hydrocarbons were investigated from two perspectives. First, it was confirmed that a diamide derivative with two hydrocarbons forms crystalline nanofibers even in a monomolecular layer. The height, thickness, and lattice spacing of the two-dimensional orthorhombic system of this crystalline nanofiber in the monolayer of a diamide derivative with two hydrocarbons are 5, 30, and 0.4 nm, respectively. Next, it was determined that the fibrous growth of the diamide derivative with two hydrocarbons, which contributes to the thixotropic ability, can be achieved by the addition of a quaternary ammonium cation with long chains, modified with montmorillonite. Here, the interlayer spacing was about 3.8 nm for the organo-modified montmorillonite and was consistent with the layer spacing of the diamide derivative having two hydrocarbons. The surface pressure–area isotherms of the mixed monolayers suggest that there is miscibility between these materials. From “the affinity due to the van der Waals interaction between the terminal groups of the alkyl chains” and the “similarity of layer spacing,” epitaxial growth is expected.

This study addresses the electrostatic and van der Waals interactions at the aqueous interface of large area CVD graphene, 1-3 layers thick on a silica support and assessed by Raman spectroscopy to have exclusive sp2 character. Ionic strength was found to substantially alter the interactions of silica microspheres with silica-supported graphene. Particles were nonadhesive at large Debye lengths but became irreversibly adherent at reduced Debye lengths about 2nm or less. This was demonstrated to be qualitatively parallel to the influence of ionic strength on silica-silica interactions. The observed ionic strength effects are best explained by negative charges in the vicinity, within a few nanometers, of the supported graphene. DLVO-based modeling of the silica-water-supported graphene interaction suggests that van der Waals interactions drive particle capture and that the surface potential at the supported graphene surface is at least -10 to -15mV (corresponding to a charge density of 0.02-0.06/nm2). This charge could result from ion adsorption or from charges on silica beneath the graphene. The conclusions are not substantially affected by inclusion of nanometer-scale interfacial roughness in the modeling.

Detachment of a surface from a viscoelastic layer, such as a film of glue, engenders bridges between the surfaces until separation. Such surface instabilities arising during contact and detachment of viscoelastic films with rigid contactors have been theoretically explored by linear stability analysis and nonlinear simulations. The contact instabilities of viscoelastic materials are found to manifest in either a 'critical' or a 'dominant' mode in which the former is preferred when the contactor is slowly brought near the film while the latter manifests when the film is 'hard-pressed' against it. The nonlinear analysis considers the movement of contactor during adhesion-debonding cycle, which uncovers that the kinetic parameters can overshadow the thermodynamically predicted area of contact, average force for pull-off, energy of contactor-film separation, and pathways of debonding. Three distinct pathways of debonding - peeling, catastrophic column collapse, and column coalescence, are found to manifest with the variation in the ratio of the elastic to viscous compliances of the viscoelastic film. The study also reveals that in the dominant mode of instability, a smaller length scale with a larger area contact between the contactor and film can develop patterns having aspect ratio ∼10 times larger than the same obtained from elastic film.

The Integrated Free Energy Model (IFEM) is a platform used to predict the solubilization of nonpolar oils in nonionic alkyl-polyethylene oxide (C(X)EO(Y)) micelles starting from a free energy balance of costs and gains when surfactants from empty micelles and oil from a continuous oil phase assemble to form an oil-swollen micelle. IFEM considers lipophilic interactions between surfactant tails and oil solubilized in the core of micelles, and the interaction between surfactant tails and the oil solubilized in the surfactant tail domain, as well as oil-oil and surfactant-surfactant tail interactions. Expressions to calculate these lipophilic interactions from van der Waals (VDW) interaction potential were introduced in a previous publication. In this article, two new surfactant-water interactions are considered, surfactant headgroup dehydration during solubilization, and surfactant tail group dehydration. These six interaction terms, in addition to two entropy of mixing contributions (in the lipophilic and in the hydrophilic domains) make up the eight terms of the IFEM platform. Of these terms, only the headgroup dehydration requires a calibrated parameter. After calibrating this parameter, the model is capable of predicting experimental solubilization data, and the experimental trends reflected by a semi-empirical model, the Hydrophilic-Lipophilic-Difference+Net-Average-Curvature (HLD-NAC). Although there are numerous approaches to predict the surfactant-oil-water (SOW) phase behavior, the IFEM platform is the only one, to the knowledge of the authors that produces an explicit connection between molecular interactions and experimental data for real SOW systems. The IFEM platform can be programmed in a personal computer using relatively inexpensive software and its explicit nature opens the possibility to introduce additional interaction terms for more complex SOW systems.

The adsorption and desorption of Kr on graphite at temperatures in the range 60–88 K, was systematically investigated using a combination of several simulation techniques including: Grand Canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC), Canonical kinetic-Monte Carlo (C-kMC) and the Mid-Density Scheme (MDS). Particular emphasis was placed on the gas–solid, gas–liquid and liquid–solid 2D phase transitions. For temperatures below the bulk triple point, the transition from a 2D-liquid-like monolayer to a 2D-solid-like state is manifested as a sub-step in the isotherm. A further increase in the chemical potential leads to another rearrangement of the 2D-solid-like state from a disordered structure to an ordered structure that is signalled by (1) another sub-step in the monolayer region and (2) a spike in the plot of the isosteric heat versus density at loadings close to the dense monolayer coverage concentration. Whenever a 2D transition occurs in a grand canonical isotherm it is always associated with a hysteresis, a feature that is not widely recognised in the literature. We studied in details this hysteresis with the analysis of the canonical isotherm, obtained with C-kMC, which exhibits a van der Waals (vdW) type loop with a vertical segment in the middle. We complemented the hysteresis loop and the vdW curve with the analysis of the equilibrium transition obtained with the MDS, and found that the equilibrium transition coincides exactly with the vertical segment of the C-kMC isotherm, indicating the co-existence of two phases at equilibrium. We also analysed adsorption at higher layers and found that the 2D-coexistence is also observed, provided that the temperature is well below the triple point. Finally the 2D-critical temperatures were obtained for the first three layers and they are in good agreement with the experimental data in the literature.

Anatase TiO2 (0 0 1) surfaces have attracted great interest for photo-degradation of organic species recently due to their high reactivity. In this work, adsorption properties and oxidation mechanisms of oxalic acid on the anatase TiO2 (0 0 1) surface have been theoretically investigated using the first-principles density functional theory. Various possible adsorption configurations are considered by diversifying the connectivity of carboxylic groups with the surface. It is found that the adsorption of oxalic acid on the anatase (0 0 1) surface prefer the dissociative states. A novel double-bidentate configuration has been found due to the structural match between oxalic acid and the (0 0 1) surface. More charge is transferred from the adsorbed oxalic acid to the surface with the double-bidentate configuration when comparing with other adsorption structures. Thus, there is a positive correlation relationship between the transferred charge amount and the interfacial bond numbers when oxalic acid adsorbs on the anatase TiO2 (0 0 1) surface. The adsorption energies with dispersion corrections have demonstrated that the van der Waals interactions play an important role in the adsorption, especially when adsorbates are close to the surface.

The present work highlighted on the implementation of a unique concept for stabilizing colloids at their incipiently low charge potential. A highly charged nanoparticle was introduced within a coagulated prone colloidal system, serving as stabilizer to resist otherwise rapid flocculation and sedimentation process. A low size asymmetry of nanoparticle/colloid serves as the new topic of investigation in addition to the well-established large size ratio nanoparticle/microparticle study. Highly charged Al2O3 nanoparticles were used within the present research context to stabilize TiO2 and Fe3O4 based colloids via the formation of composite structures. It was believed, based on the experimental evidence, that Al2O3 nanoparticle interact with the weakly charged TiO2 and Fe3O4 colloids within the binary system via absorption and/or haloing modes to increase the overall charge potential of the respective colloids, thus preventing further surface contact via van der Waal’s attraction. Series of experimental results strongly suggest the presence of weakly charged colloids in the studied bimodal system where, in the absence of highly charged nanoparticle, experience rapid instability. Absorbance measurement indicated that the colloidal stability drops in accordance to the highly charged nanoparticle sedimentation rate, suggesting the dominant influence of nanoparticles to attain a well-dispersed binary system. Further, it was found that the level of colloidal stability was enhanced with increasing nanoparticle fraction within the mixture. Rheological observation revealed that each hybrid complexes demonstrated behavior reminiscence to water with negligible increase in viscosity which serves as highly favorable condition particularly in thermal transport applications.

Considering recent applications of electrophoresis conduced in nanoscaled devices, where particle-particle interaction can play a role, we studied for the first time the electrophoresis of two rigid spheres along their center line, taking account of the hydrodynamic, electric, and van der Waals interactions between them. Under the conditions of constant surface potential and surface charge density, the influences of the level of surface potential/charge density, the bulk salt concentration, and the particle-particle distance on their electrokinetic behaviors are examined. Numerical simulation reveals that these behaviors are much more complicated and interesting than those of isolated particles. In particular, we show that care must be taken in choosing an appropriate particle concentration in relevant experiment to avoid obtaining unreliable mobility data.

In this study, the formation and structure of a single-particle layer of organo-zinc oxide are investigated using surface-pressure-area (π-A) isotherms, out-of-plane X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Further, techniques for achieving the solubilization of inorganic fine particles in general solvents have been proposed, and a single-particle layer has been formed using such an inorganic solution as a "spreading solution" for an interfacial film. Surface modification of ZnO is performed using a long-chain carboxylic acid. Accordingly, a regular arrangement of ZnO can be easily achieved in order to overcome the relatively weak van der Walls interactions between inorganic materials. A condensed Langmuir monolayer of these particles is also formed. A multiparticle layered structure is constructed by the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique. Out-of-plane XRD measurement results for a single-particle layer of organo-ZnO clearly show a sharp peak at 42 A. This peak is attributed to the distance between ZnO layers. The AFM image of this single-particle layer of organo-ZnO shows a particle assembly with a uniform height of 60 nm. These aggregated particles form large two-dimensional crystals. In other words, a regular periodic structure along the c-axis and a condensed single-particle layer had been fabricated using Langmuir and LB techniques.