Abstract
Novel structural transitions of solvent-free oligomer-grafted nanoparticles are investigated by using molecular dynamics simulations of a coarse-grained bead-spring model. Variations in core size and grafting density lead to self-assembly of the nanoparticles into a variety of distinct structures. At the boundaries between different structures, the nanoparticle systems undergo thermoreversible transitions. This structural behavior, which has not been previously reported, deviates significantly from that of simple liquids. The reversible nature of these transitions in solvent-free conditions offers new ways to control self-assembly of nanoparticles at experimentally accessible conditions. © 2011 American Physical Society.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Journal | Physical Review Letters |
| Volume | 107 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 1 2011 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01Acknowledged KAUST grant number(s): KUS-C1-018-02
Acknowledgements: The authors thank F. Escobedo for suggesting the simulation model used in this work and D. Koch, H.-Y. Yu, and S. Kumar for helpful discussions. This Letter is based on work supported by Grant No. KUS-C1-018-02 made by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and by Grant No. CBET-1033155 from the U.S. National Science Foundation.
This publication acknowledges KAUST support, but has no KAUST affiliated authors.