title: A formalism relating the conductivity of functionalized nanoparticles to constituent ligand molecules and application to water-containing silica.
abstract: A formalism is presented that relates adsorption-desorption phenomena to the charge transfer events that take place on the surface of functionalized nanoparticles. The equations are applied to experimental results for the scaled electrical conductivity of a hydrophilic fumed silica with a nanoparticle diameter of 7 nm. Insight into the distribution of water on the surface of the nanoparticles is obtained.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 1, 35131-I Padova, Italy. vito.dinoto@unipd.it
authors.forename: Vito
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Di Noto
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lavina
authors.forename: Mary C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Wintersgill
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Fontanella