Computer simulation of adhesion between hydrophilic and hydrophobic self-assembled monolayers in water

The grand canonical Monte Carlo technique and atomistic force fields are used to calculate the force-distance relations and free energies of adhesion between carboxyl and methyl terminated alkanethiolate self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) in water. Both symmetric and asymmetric confinements are consid...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pertsin, Alexander (Author) , Grunze, Michael (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 01 August 2012
In: The journal of chemical physics
Year: 2012, Volume: 137, Issue: 5
ISSN:1089-7690
DOI:10.1063/1.4739745
Online Access:Verlag, Volltext: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4739745
Verlag, Volltext: https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.4739745
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Author Notes:Alexander Pertsin, Michael Grunze
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Summary:The grand canonical Monte Carlo technique and atomistic force fields are used to calculate the force-distance relations and free energies of adhesion between carboxyl and methyl terminated alkanethiolate self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) in water. Both symmetric and asymmetric confinements are considered, as formed by like and unlike SAMs, respectively. As the confinement is increased, water confined by the hydrophobic methyl terminated SAMs experiences capillary evaporation. As a consequence, the adhesion energy is determined by the direct interaction between bare SAMs. In the asymmetric system, an incomplete capillary evaporation is observed, with the number of water molecules dropped by more than an order of magnitude. The remaining water molecules are all adsorbed on the hydrophilic SAM, while the hydrophobic SAM is separated from the rest of the system by a thin vapor layer. The calculated free energies of adhesion are in acceptable agreement with experiment.
Item Description:Gesehen am 24.07.2018
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1089-7690
DOI:10.1063/1.4739745