Colloidal dispersions are key in lots of fields of science and expertise. Not too long ago, now we have proven that small molecules can stabilize dispersions of nanoscale objects, resembling proteins and nanoparticles by screening their web engaging interactions. This new impact is basically the alternative of the well-known salt screening of electrostatic interplay. Right here we present that small molecule stabilization of nanoparticles is a phenomenon strongly linked to the hydrophobic content material of the particles in addition to to the power of their hydrophobic attraction. We evaluate the impact of proline on gold nanoparticles coated with 11-mercaptoundecane sulfonate (MUS) at various percentages of the hydrophobic ligand octanethiol (OT). We present that the bigger the proportion of OT, the bigger the proline stabilization impact is. We additionally evaluate the impact of proline on water dispersions of nanoparticles with that on heavy water dispersions. Within the latter, the hydrophobic impact performs a much bigger position. We discover that in D2O, proline stabilization is bigger. We additionally evaluate the impact of proline on the identical MUS:OT gold nanoparticles earlier than and after an annealing course of that’s recognized to render the particle extra hydrophilic. Proline is simpler on the particles earlier than annealing. Lastly, we research the impact of proline on non-aggregating allMUS nanoparticles. We discover that proline stabilization of those particles is especially resulting from a discount within the long-range attraction coefficient. Total, we present that proline stabilizes nanoparticle dispersions extra successfully because the hydrophobic attraction between nanoparticles will increase.
