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How does surface area affect the Van der Waals interactions?

Answer 1

Van der waals forces or what is also called London Dispersion forces (LDF) increase with the increase of surface area.

Van der Waals forces, also known as London Dispersion forces, or LDF, rise as surface area does.

For example, we know that the only possible intermolecular forces between Alkanes #C_nH_(2n+2)# is LDF.

The first four alkanes are observed to be gases; however, as the alkane molecules' surface area increases, they transform into liquids.

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Answer 2

Cameron Andrews

Surface area affects Van der Waals interactions by increasing the contact area between molecules, which in turn enhances the strength of the Van der Waals forces between them. As the surface area increases, there are more opportunities for temporary dipoles to form, leading to stronger attractions between molecules.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.