Molecular dynamics simulations of electrostatic layer-by-layer self- assembly

V Panchagnula and J Jeon and AV Dobrynin, PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, 93, 037801 (2004).

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.93.037801

Electrostatic assembly of multilayered thin films through sequential adsorption of polyions in layer-by-layer fashion utilizes the strong electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged molecules. We perform molecular dynamics simulations of multilayers of flexible polyelectrolytes around a charged spherical particle. Our simulations establish that the charge reversal after each deposition step is a crucial factor for the steady layer growth. The multilayers appear to be nonequilibrium structures.

Return to Publications page