Kinematics of gold nanoparticles manipulation in situ transmission electron microscopy

Nanostructured materials such as nanoparticles, nanotubes, and nanowires are subject to different forces regimes compared with their macroscopic counterparts. In this work, we report the experimental manipulation of an individual gold nanoparticle (96 nm) capped with PVP considering forces surrounding the nanoparticle such as adhesion, friction, and the external load in real time, and how the differences between these forces produce distinct motions. Combining a scanning probe tool within a transmission electron microscope, we manipulated a gold nanoparticle and recorded the sliding and rolling kinematic motions. Our observations show quantitatively the adhesion force, maximum rolling resistance, and friction coefficients of the probe and the surface of the capped particle as well as particle and substrate surface.