Abstract
Langmuir films at the air-water interface exhibit a variety of surface phases which arise primarily due to the molecular interaction governed by intermolecular separation. We have studied the thermodynamical aspects of Langmuir monolayers of amphiphilic functionalized gold nanoparticles (AGNs) at the air-water interface. Interestingly, the AGN monolayer exhibits phases like gas, a low-ordered liquid , a high-ordered liquid , and a collapsed state. We find that the first-order phase transition between and vanishes above a critical temperature of . Surprisingly, for a range of higher temperatures ( and ), the phase undergoes a transition to a bilayer of the phase before entering into the collapsed state.
- Received 1 July 2008
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.78.032601
©2008 American Physical Society