Cavitation energies can outperform dispersion interactions

Cucurbiturils brighten Au nanoclusters in water

“…9,10 In the past two decades, the advancements in CB[n]based host-guest self-assembly have greatly facilitated the design of functional materials ranging from single molecules to various nanostructures. [11][12][13][14][15] Contributing to the abundant recognition sites on surfaces, nanoparticles have been extensively integrated with host-guest self-assembly to obtain additional surprising functions. [16][17][18] Nevertheless, less attention has been paid to ultrasmall nanostructures below 3 nm such as metal nanoclusters (such as Ag, Cu and Au nanoclusters) due to the difficulty in tailoring an appropriate nanostructure with desirable properties and host-guest recognition capability.…”

Polarizability and isotope effects on dispersion interactions in water

“…However, as seen in gecko's foot for example 2,3 , nature efficiently utilizes this molecular interaction. Such splendid examples have recently stimulated the utilization of dispersion interaction in artificial systems [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] . As the theoretical formalism of dispersion interactions indicates (U(r) ∝ α A ·α B /r 6 , where α A , α B , r are the polarizabilities of atoms A and B, and their distance, respectively), a large dispersion interaction works between two atoms with high polarizability 13 .…”

Face‐Fusion of Icosahedral Boron Hydride Increases Affinity to γ‐Cyclodextrin: closo,closo‐[B21H18]− as an Anion with Very Low Free Energy of Dehydration

“…The irregularity in the calculated hydration free energies (maximum for B 12 Br 12 2− ) is likely due to the fact that the hydration of the largest cluster, B 12 I 12 2− , is disfavored due to its lower charge density but favored due to its very high polarizability. Note, in this context, that the polarizability of any hydrated species is an important determinant of its solubility, which accounts, for example, for the larger aqueous solubility of xenon than neon …”