Just a reminder! Learn about the exciting exceptions to rules you knew
to be true in general chemistry, why sometimes small ions adsorb to an
air-water interface rather than in bulk solution!
Speaker:
Professor Phillip Geissler
University of California, Berkeley
Title: The diverse physical consequences of interfacial fluctuations:
From Hofmeister effects to the self-assembly of passivated nanocrystals
Location: MIT, Building 4 - Room 231.
Time: 4:00 PM Wednesday (4/4)
Abstract: At molecular scales, liquid interfaces feature strong and
inhomogeneous fluctuations: in density, in surface topography, and, in
the case of polar liquids, electric field. Interplay among them can lead
to surprising and rich behavior quite distinct from corresponding
well-understood phenomena in bulk solution. For example, many computer
simulations and experiments suggest that certain small ions can strongly
adsorb to the air-water interface, contrary to expectations from
successful theories of bulk solvation. I will present detailed evidence
that capillary waves and inhomogeneous density fluctuations play a
significant role in driving this behavior. As a second example, I will
discuss the effective interactions among inorganic nanorods in solution.
Here, ordering of passivating ligands on the rods' surface, together
with induced layering of solvent density at the liquid-rod interface,
mediates a strong and unexpected attraction between rods that could not
be anticipated from traditional continuum theories.
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