Nanoparticle coating structure in the presence of solvent

Work by Matt Lane and Gary Grest (Sandia) to model the structure of nanoparticle coatings in solution. It demonstrates that small spherical nanoparticles — coated with a simple polymer — produce highly asymmetric coating arrangements even when one would expect otherwise. When particles are placed at the solvent surface, the asymmetric coatings are amplified and oriented by the surface.

The first three images show nanoparticles 2 nm, 4 nm, and 8 nm in diameter in various solvents (decane, implicit, water). The fourth image shows nanoparticles of various sizes at a water/vapor interface.