title: Spatial distribution of nanocrystals imaged at the liquid-air interface.
abstract: The 3D distribution of nanocrystals at the liquid-air interface is imaged for the first time on a single-particle level by cryogenic electron tomography, revealing the equilibrium concentration profile from the interface to the bulk of the liquid. When the surface tension of the liquid is decreased, the interaction of the nanocrystals with the liquid-air interface shifts from adsorption to desorption. Macroscopic surface tension measurements do not detect this transition, due to the presence of surface-active molecular species.
authors.affiliation: Van 't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH, Utrecht, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jos
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van Rijssel
authors.affiliation: Van 't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH, Utrecht, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marte
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van der Linden
authors.affiliation: Electron Microscopy Utrecht, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH, Utrecht, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Johannes D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Meeldijk
authors.affiliation: Condensed Matter and Interfaces, Princetonplein 1, 3584 CC, Utrecht, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Relinde J A
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: van Dijk-Moes
authors.affiliation: Van 't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH, Utrecht, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Albert P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Philipse
authors.affiliation: Van 't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH, Utrecht, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ben H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Erné