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Solvents

Solvents

A solvent is a substance, most often a liquid, that can dissolve other substances. Here, the substance being dissolved is called a solute. When a solvent and a solute combine, they form a solution - a homogenous mixture of both the solvent and the solute. Water is a universal biological solvent. Its polar structure allows it to dissolve many other polar compounds. The ability of water to dissolve is governed by a balance between water molecules binding to each other and binding to the solute.
A...

Entropy and Solvation

Entropy and Solvation

The process of surrounding a solute with solvent is called solvation. It involves evenly distributing the solute within the solvent. The rule of thumb for determining a solvent for a given compound is that like dissolves like. A good solvent has molecular characteristics similar to those of the compound to be dissolved. For example, polar solutions dissolve polar solutes, and apolar solvents dissolve apolar solutes. A polar solvent is a solvent that has a high dielectric constant (ϵ ≥ 15); an...

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Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Ultrahigh Density Array of Vertically Aligned Small-molecular Organic Nanowires on Arbitrary Substrates

Ultrahigh Density Array of Vertically Aligned Small-molecular Organic Nanowires on Arbitrary Substrates

Published on: June 18, 2013

Entropy Can Bundle Nanowires in Good Solvents.

Hongyu Gao¹, Simon Bettscheider^2,3, Tobias Kraus^2,3

¹Department of Materials Science and Engineering , Saarland University , Campus C6 3 , 66123 Saarbrücken , Germany.

|September 20, 2019

Summary

Ligand-coated nanowires unexpectedly bundle in good solvents due to solvent molecule orientation, not direct ligand contact. This finding reveals a novel binding mechanism driven by entropy loss in specific solvent-ligand interactions.

Keywords:

Gold nanowires agglomeration bundle stability molecular dynamics nonpolar solvent potential of mean force

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Published on: December 7, 2017

Area of Science:

Surface Chemistry
Nanotechnology
Physical Chemistry

Background:

Surfaces with bound ligands typically attract in poor solvents and repel in good solvents.
Recent experiments show oleylamine-ligated nanowires bundling in the good solvent n-hexane, contradicting typical behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

To elucidate the binding mechanisms of ligand-coated nanowires in both poor (ethanol) and good (n-hexane) solvents.
To explain the unexpected bundling of nanowires in a good solvent using molecular dynamics simulations.

Main Methods:

Molecular dynamics simulations of oleylamine-ligated ultrathin nanowires in ethanol and n-hexane.
Experimental validation of simulation predictions.

Main Results:

In ethanol (poor solvent), nanowire binding occurs via direct ligand-ligand interactions due to solvent depletion.
In n-hexane (good solvent), binding is driven by solvent molecules orienting along the nanowire, leading to entropy loss.
Optimal ligand density is intermediate, allowing solvent penetration but maintaining ligand orientation.

Conclusions:

A novel binding mechanism for nanowires in good solvents is identified, driven by solvent entropy.
The findings highlight the critical role of solvent-ligand interactions and ligand density in determining surface interactions.
Experimental results confirm the simulated trends, validating the proposed binding mechanisms.