title: Multimer formation for two-dimensional random nanoparticle deposition.
abstract: Efforts are currently under way to produce nanoparticle samples with a size dispersion as low as possible, using deposition of preformed clusters on a substrate. However, even for diluted cluster films, contact or coalescence between neighboring clusters cannot be totally avoided due to the random nature of the deposition process. Consequently, the incident particle-size distribution will necessarily be degraded, with the statistical formation of multimers (dimers, trimers, or more generally nmers). In this article, we consider diluted assemblies of nanoparticles (with a narrow size distribution) randomly deposited on a surface and develop theoretical tools to assess the various multimer proportions. We establish simple and reliable analytical approximations of the probability for a cluster to form an nmer and the subsequent multimer proportion. These results can be applied in the analysis of experimental samples: They constitute a convenient tool for experimentalists in the design of their nanoparticle sample and the interpretation of experimental measurements.
authors.affiliation: LPMCN, UMR 5586 CNRS and Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France. florent.tournus@univ-lyon1.fr
authors.forename: Florent
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tournus
mesh_terms: D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004058:Diffusion; D019281:Dimerization; D015233:Models, Statistical; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D010316:Particle Size; D011336:Probability; D013499:Surface Properties