Langmuir-Blodgett Films

herausgegeben von: Gareth Roberts

Verlag: Springer US

Enthalten in: Professional Book Archive

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Monomolecular assemblies on substrates, now termed Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films, have been studied for over half a century. Their development can be viewed in three stages. Following the pioneering work of Irving Langmuir and Katharine Blodgett in the late 1930s there was a brief flurry of activity just before and just after the Second World War. Many years later Hans Kuhn published his stimulating work on energy transfer. This German contribution to the field, made in the mid-1960s, can be regarded as laying the foundation for studies of artificial systems of cooperat ing molecules on solid substrates. However, the resurgence of activity in academic and industrial laboratories, which has resulted in four large international con ferences, would not have occurred but for British and French groups highlighting the possible applications of LB films in thefield of electronics. Many academic and industrial establishments involved in high technology are now active in or maintaining a watching brief on the field. Nevertheless this impor tant area of solid state science is still perhaps largely unfamiliar to many involved in materials or electronic device research. The richness of the variety of organic molecular materials suitable for LB film deposition offers enormous scope for those interested in their basic properties or their practical applications. LB films are now an integral part of the field of molecular electronics. It seems inevitable that they will play some role in replacing inorganic materials in certain areas of application.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Historical Introduction

Abstract

When Lord Rayleigh (John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, 1842–1919) received a registered letter* from Brunswick in Germany, on the morning of Monday, January 12, 1891, he little thought that this was the opening of a new phase in his physical research and that it would lay the foundation for an entirely new and revolutionary branch of physical chemistry—the study of monolayers.

C. H. Giles, S. D. Forrester, G. G. Roberts

Chapter 2. Molecular Structure and Monolayer Properties

Abstract

There is something about the unique combination of properties of a water surface that makes water by far the most favored subphase for Langmuir film formation. This chapter will be concerned with the nature of the interactions between a water surface (more properly an air-water interface) and an insoluble monolayer. The chemical features of molecules that form stable monolayers will be illustrated, together with the factors that lead to their successful deposition onto substrates as solid multilayers. There has been much recent interest in the study of polymerizable monolayers and an extension of the earlier work on monolayers of preformed polymers. As polymers have especial importance in connection with potential applications, they are dealt with in a separate section. The systematic chemical names of many of the materials discussed in this chapter are long and complex. No attempt has therefore been made to make consistent use of formal nomenclature; common names and abbreviations are used in the text and alternatives are sometimes given in the captions to the figures.

R. A. Hann

Chapter 3. Film Deposition

Abstract

There are a number of different ways in which a floating monolayer may be transferred to a solid plate (to be referred to as the substrate). This chapter is concerned exclusively with the method reported by Langmuir,⁽¹⁾ extensively applied by Blodgett,^(2,3) and which is now firmly associated with the names of these workers. Other transfer mechanisms can result from different interactions between the monolayer, subphase, and solid. Examples are the “touching” method of Schulman et al. ⁽⁴⁾ and the “lifting” technique suggested by Langmuir and Schaefer⁽⁵⁾; these are reviewed in the book by Gaines.⁽⁶⁾ The lifting technique has found some application by Fukuda et al.,^(7–10) who have used it to deposit monolayers of certain long chain aromatics, and also by workers on phospholipid membranes, in order to produce hydrophilic outer surfaces.⁽²¹³⁾ A similar horizontal deposition technique has been described by Lando et al. ^(11,12) this would seem to be useful for the transfer of polymerized or highly rigid monolayers to solid supports. A further variation is discussed by Kossi and Leblanc,⁽¹³⁾ who have reported on a combined lifting and touching technique to produce model membrane systems.

M. C. Petty, W. A. Barlow

Chapter 4. Characterization and Properties

Abstract

This chapter concentrates on the characterization of Langmuir—Blodgett (LB) monolayer and multilayer films on solid surfaces. Experimental techniques to study the properties of monolayers floating on the surface of a subphase have been discussed by Gaines⁽¹⁾ and are, to some extent, covered in the earlier chapters of this book. A review of the properties of LB films could be arranged in a number of ways: subdivisions according to the type of material or to the nature of the experimental technique are probably the most straightforward approaches. In this chapter the latter plan is adopted. It is hoped that this will not only aid the researcher wishing to investigate monolayer and multilayer systems, but also keep the work relevant as more novel LB materials are synthesized. Examples used have generally been chosen from published data on the simpler types of LB assemblies (e.g., longchain fatty acids).

M. C. Petty

Chapter 5. Spectroscopy of Complex Monolayers

Abstract

The Langmuir trough technique presents a method of constructing simple artificial systems of cooperating molecules on a substrate. Much of the pioneering work in this field has been carried out by Kuhn and his colleagues at Marburg and Göttingen. They first appreciated the possibility of using well-known monolayers, such as those of long-chain fatty acids, as matrices for appropriate dyes. The elegance of their work on various molecular arrangements containing chromophoric groups is evident in their early papers on the subject.^(1–3) These complex monolayers consist of various components, and their structure and the properties of particular components must be evaluated before the monolayers can be used as parts of even more complex monolayer organizates. On this basis, a large variety of systems has been organized to investigate intermolecular interactions, and photophysical and photochemical processes.^(4,5) New techniques of monolayer organization and manipulation have also been developed.^(4,6–8)

D. Möbius

Chapter 6. Monolayers and Multilayers of Biomolecules

Abstract

Langmuir-Blodgett films are used for the study of ordered arrays of molecules, usually capable of forming insoluble monolayers at an air-water interface. The structure in biology which would appear to be most amenable to study by the Langmuir-Blodgett technique is the membrane. Our understanding of its composition, structure, and dynamics has to account for a wide range of its functions in vivo. As barriers, they are able to maintain large concentration gradients, both ionic and nonionic Yet the proteins found embedded in the membrane are capable of dissipating and regenerating these gradients, sometimes very rapidly. Membranes are sites of contact and recognition, be it of other cells or of chemical signals and they can adopt a variety of forms. For example they can pit or fragments can “bud” off from the main structure and they can fuse with other membranes or stack as in the thylakoid membranes of plant chloroplasts (Figure 6.1). In this last array, they provide the environment for the capture of light energy to drive photosynthesis.

R. M. Swart

Chapter 7. Potential Applications of Langmuir-Blodgett Films

Abstract

The considerable surge of activity in Langmuir-Blodgett film research occurred approximately forty years after the first detailed report of sequential monolayer transfer.⁽¹⁾ Some of the motivation and enthusiasm arose from the results of fundamental work^(2,3) on energy transfer in monomolecular assemblies. However, the resurgence of activity in academic and industrial laboratories, and increased funding for the subject, can mainly be attributed to British and French groups highlighting their possible applications in the field of electronics.^(4–6) Several applications-oriented review articles^(7–10) have been written but no commercial device is yet available.

G. G. Roberts

Backmatter

Titel: Langmuir-Blodgett Films
herausgegeben von: Gareth Roberts
Verlag: Springer US
Electronic ISBN: 978-1-4899-3716-2
Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-3718-6
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3716-2

Springer Professional

Über dieses Buch

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Historical Introduction

Chapter 2. Molecular Structure and Monolayer Properties

Chapter 3. Film Deposition

Chapter 4. Characterization and Properties

Chapter 5. Spectroscopy of Complex Monolayers

Chapter 6. Monolayers and Multilayers of Biomolecules

Chapter 7. Potential Applications of Langmuir-Blodgett Films

Backmatter