Fig. 4: Potential of mean force for the sliding motion of two coplanar gibbsite nanoplatelets.
From: Mesocrystal growth through oriented sliding and attachment of nanoplates
a Sliding motions of the red gibbsite nanoparticles in water along the [010] and [100] directions toward alignment and overlap with the blue particle. The two particles remain separated in the z direction by a water layer throughout the PMF calculations. b Potential of mean force as a function of center of mass distance between two particles during sliding motions along the [010] and [100] directions (i.e., overlap increasing to the left). Shade areas demonstrate the periodicity of the red PMF profile. c Simulation snapshots I-IV demonstrate the particle configurations at points I–IV marked on the blue PMF profile. d Simulation snapshots A-G illustrate the particle configurations (water is not shown) at points A–G marked on the red PMF profile. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
