@misc{10481/77706,
year = {2022},
month = {10},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/77706},
abstract = {Recently, the significant improvements in polymer composites properties have been mainly attributed to
the ability of filler nanoparticles (NPs) to self-assemble into highly anisotropic self-assembled structures.
In this work, we investigate the self-assembly of core–shell NPs composed of a silica core grafted with
polybutadiene (PB) chains, generating the so-called ‘‘hairy’’ NPs (HNPs), immersed in tetrahydrofuran
solvent. While uncoated silica beads aggregate forming uniform compact structures, the presence of a
PB shell affects the silica NPs organization to the point that by increasing the polymer density at the
corona, they tend to self-assemble into linear chain-like structures. To reproduce the experimental
observations, we propose a theoretical model for the two-body that considers the van der Waals
attractive energy together with the polymer-induced repulsive steric contribution and includes an
additional three-body interaction term. This term arises due to the anisotropic distribution of PB, which
increases their concentration near the NPs contact region. The resulting steric repulsion experienced by
a third NP approaching the dimer prevents its binding close to the dimer bond and favors the growth of
chain-like structures. We find good agreement between the simulated and experimental self-assembled
superstructures, confirming that this three-body steric repulsion plays a key role in determining the
cluster morphology of these core–shell NPs. The model also shows that further increasing the grafting
density leads to low-density gel-like open structures.},
organization = {Pirelli},
organization = {Milano Bicocca University},
organization = {Junta de Andalucia		
European Regional Development Fund -Consejeria de Conocimiento, Investigacion y Universidad, Junta de Andalucia	PY20-00241	
A-FQM90-UGR20},
organization = {Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACyT)	A1-S-9197},
publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry},
title = {Controlling the anisotropic self-assembly of polybutadiene-grafted silica nanoparticles by tuning three-body interaction forces},
doi = {10.1039/d2sm00943a},
author = {Di Credico, Barbara and Moncho Jordá, Arturo},
}