Dynamics of Gold Nanoparticles on Carbon Nanostructures Driven by van der Waals and Electrostatic Interactions

Alessandro La Torre; Maria del Carmen Gimenez-Lopez; Michael W Fay; Carlos Herreros Lucas; Paul D Brown; Andrei N Khlobystov

doi:10.1002/smll.201402807

Dynamics of Gold Nanoparticles on Carbon Nanostructures Driven by van der Waals and Electrostatic Interactions

Small. 2015 Jun;11(23):2756-61. doi: 10.1002/smll.201402807. Epub 2015 Feb 16.

Authors

Alessandro La Torre¹, Maria del Carmen Gimenez-Lopez¹, Michael W Fay², Carlos Herreros Lucas¹, Paul D Brown³, Andrei N Khlobystov^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemistry, The University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
² Nottingham Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Centre, The University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
³ Division of Materials, Mechanics and Structures, Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.

PMID: 25689488
DOI: 10.1002/smll.201402807

Abstract

Transmission electron microscopy studies on the assembly and growth of gold nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes supported on few-layer graphene and amorphous carbon reveal a competition between van der Waals forces and electrostatic interactions, enabling controlled positioning and sizing of adsorbed nanoparticles at the nanochannels formed between the carbon nanotube and the few-layer graph-ene surface.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes; electrostatic interactions; graphene; nanoparticles; nanostructures; van der Waals forces.

Publication types

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