Van der Waals interactions and the limits of isolated atom models at interfaces

Shigeki Kawai (), Adam S. Foster (), Torbjörn Björkman, Sylwia Nowakowska, Jonas Björk, Filippo Federici Canova, Lutz H. Gade, Thomas A. Jung and Ernst Meyer
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Shigeki Kawai: International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science
Adam S. Foster: COMP, Aalto University
Torbjörn Björkman: COMP, Aalto University
Sylwia Nowakowska: University of Basel
Jonas Björk: Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University
Filippo Federici Canova: COMP, Aalto University
Lutz H. Gade: Anorganisch-Chemisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg
Thomas A. Jung: University of Basel
Ernst Meyer: University of Basel

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Van der Waals forces are among the weakest, yet most decisive interactions governing condensation and aggregation processes and the phase behaviour of atomic and molecular matter. Understanding the resulting structural motifs and patterns has become increasingly important in studies of the nanoscale regime. Here we measure the paradigmatic van der Waals interactions represented by the noble gas atom pairs Ar–Xe, Kr–Xe and Xe–Xe with a Xe-functionalized tip of an atomic force microscope at low temperature. Individual rare gas atoms were fixed at node sites of a surface-confined two-dimensional metal–organic framework. We found that the magnitude of the measured force increased with the atomic radius, yet detailed simulation by density functional theory revealed that the adsorption induced charge redistribution strengthened the van der Waals forces by a factor of up to two, thus demonstrating the limits of a purely atomic description of the interaction in these representative systems.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11559

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