Fig. 5.

Estimation of the interaction potentials for a pair of PNSs. a The representative interaction potentials for a pair of PNSs adsorbed at the air/water interface at F_e = 0.4 nN. The total interaction potential per particle U(d), shown as a function of the interparticle distance d (black line), includes the van der Waals potential, the electrostatic potential and the capillary potential. b U(d) is plotted as a function of F_e. The black solid line traces the positons of the secondary potential minima and the black dashed line marks for F_e = 0.4nN (as shown in a). The simulation details are given in the Supplementary Note 5