Molecular dynamics simulations of interfacial interactions between small nanoparticles during diffusion-limited aggregation

Abstract

Due to the limitations of experimental methods at the atomic level, research on the aggregation of small nanoparticles (D<5nm) in aqueous solutions is quite rare. The aggregation of small nanoparticles in aqueous solutions is very different than that of normal sized nanoparticles. The interfacial interactions play a dominant role in the aggregation of small nanoparticles. In this paper, molecular dynamics simulations, which can explore the microscopic behavior of nanoparticles during the diffusion-limited aggregation at an atomic level, were employed to reveal the aggregation mechanism of small nanoparticles in aqueous solutions. First, the aggregation processes and aggregate structure were depicted. Second, the particle–particle interaction and surface diffusion of nanoparticles during aggregation were investigated. Third, the water-mediated interactions during aggregation were ascertained. The results indicate that the aggregation of nanoparticle in aqueous solutions is affected by particle size. The strong particle–particle interaction and high surface diffusion result in the formation of particle–particle bonds of 2nm TiO2 nanoparticles, and the water-mediated interaction plays an important role in the aggregation process of 3 and 4nm TiO2 nanoparticles.