Orientational order of molecular assemblies on inorganic crystals

D. A. Saville, J. Chun, J. L. Li, H. C. Schniepp, Roberto Car, Ilhan A. Aksay

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

27 Scopus citations

Abstract

Surfactant micelles form oriented arrays on crystalline substrates although registration is unexpected since the template unit cell is small compared to the size of a rodlike micelle. Interaction energy calculations based on molecular simulations reveal that orientational energy differences on a molecular scale are too small to explain matters. With atomic force microscopy, we show that orientational ordering is a dynamic, multimolecule process. Treating the cooperative processes as a balance between van derâ Waals torque on a large, rodlike micellar assembly and Brownian motion shows that orientation is favored.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number018301
JournalPhysical review letters
Volume96
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 13 2006

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Physics and Astronomy

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