title: Electrostatics and optimal arrangement of ionic triangular lattices confined to cylindrical fibers.
abstract: We study the optimal packing of triangular ionic lattices on the surface of nanofibers. We compute the favored orientation of the lattice with respect to the axis of the cylindrical fiber, and we determine the effects of the surface curvature. Electrostatic interactions prefer chiral arrangements only for special families of lattices that depend on the fiber diameter. However, there are families of lattices that energetically promote achiral configurations. Besides the long-range Coulomb interactions we consider the behavior of short-range elastic forces, represented by interconnected springs between neighboring ions. In this case a different family of achiral lattices is always preferred. We also show that varying the stoichiometric composition of charges, as well as including higher-order curvature effects, does not significantly modify such a scenario.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Kohlstedt
authors.forename: Graziano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vernizzi
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Olvera de la Cruz
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D007477:Ions; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D055672:Static Electricity
chemical_list: D007477:Ions