van der Waals interactions between nanotubes and nanoparticles for controlled assembly of composite nanostructures.

We have demonstrated that ubiquitous van der Waals forces are significant in controlling the interactions between nanoparticles and nanotubes. The adsorption of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on nanotubes (MWNTs) obeys a simple quadratic dependence on the nanotube surface area, regardless of the source of AuNPs and MWNTs. Changes in the geometric parameters of the components have pronounced effects on the affinity of nanoparticles for nanotubes, with larger, more polarizable nanostructures exhibiting stronger attractive interactions, the impact of which changes in the following order MWNT diameter > AuNP diameter > MWNT length.