Hydrophobic Interactions Modulate Self-Assembly of Nanoparticles

作者：Ana Sánchez‐Iglesias, Marek Grzelczak, Thomas Altantzis, Bart Goris, Jorge Pérez‐Juste, Sara Bals, Gustaaf Van Tendeloo, Stephen H. Donaldson, Bradley F. Chmelka, Jacob N. Israelachvili, Luis M. Liz‐Marzán · 发表于：ACS Nano · 年份：2012 · DOI：10.1021/nn3047605 · 被引用次数：438 · 研究领域：Pickering emulsions and particle stabilization、Gold and Silver Nanoparticles Synthesis and Applications、Micro and Nano Robotics

Hydrophobic interactions constitute one of the most important types of nonspecific interactions in biological systems, which emerge when water molecules rearrange as two hydrophobic species come close to each other. The prediction of hydrophobic interactions at the level of nanoparticles (Brownian objects) remains challenging because of uncontrolled diffusive motion of the particles. We describe here a general methodology for solvent-induced, reversible self-assembly of gold nanoparticles into 3D clusters with well-controlled sizes. A theoretical description of the process confirmed that hydrophobic interactions are the main driving force behind nanoparticle aggregation.