title: Self-assembly of gold nanoparticles at the oil-vapor interface: from mono- to multilayers.
abstract: Alkylthiol-coated gold nanoparticles spontaneously segregate from dispersion in toluene to the toluene-vapor interface. We show that surface tension drops during segregation with a rate that depends on particle concentration. Mono- and multilayers of particles form depending on particle concentration, time, and temperature. X-ray reflectometry indicates fast monolayer formation and slow multilayer formation. A model that combines diffusion-limited segregation driven by surface energy and heterogeneous agglomeration driven by dispersive van der Waals particle interactions is proposed to describe film formation.
authors.affiliation: INM-Leibniz Institute for New Materials , Campus D2 2, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Born
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Schön
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blum
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gerstner
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Huber
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kraus