Solvophobic solvation at large and intermediate length scales: Size, shape, and solvent effects.
We report the results of molecular-dynamics simulations of solvophobic nanoparticles in n -decane solvent. We observe that solvent ordering in the interparticle gap and solvation forces depend on the particle size and shape. Analogous to hydrophobic hydration, we observe dewetting of the interparticle region when the nanoparticle separation becomes smaller than a critical value of delta(c). We observe that delta(c) exhibits a nonmonotonic dependence on nanoparticle size, in contrast to what is expected from studies of water. While studies of hydrophobic hydration indicate that two solute length scales govern hydrophobic interactions, our studies indicate that a third length scale can be important in the more general phenomenon of solvophobic solvation.
Qin
Yong
Y
Department of Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
Fichthorn
Kristen A
KA