London Dispersion Forces in Molecules, Solids and Nano-structures: An Introduction to Physical Models and Computational Methods

London dispersion interactions are responsible for numerous phenomena in physics, chemistry and biology. Recent years have seen the development of new, physically well-founded models, and dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT) is now a hot topic of research. This book is an overview of current understanding of the physical origin and modelling of London dispersion forces manifested at an atomic level. It covers a wide range of system, from small intermolecular complexes, to organic molecules and crystalline solids, through to biological macromolecules and nanostructures. In presenting a broad overview of the of the physical foundations of dispersion forces, the book provides theoretical, physical and synthetic chemists, as well as solid-state physicists, with a systematic understanding of the origins and consequences of these ubiquitous interactions. The presentation is designed to be accessible to anyone with intermediate undergraduate mathematics, physics and chemistry.

János Ángyán is Director of Research at CNRS, France. His main research interest is the electronic structure of solids and intermolecular interactions.