Layer-by-layer assembly for rapid fabrication of thick polymeric films

In the past two decades, layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly has been proven to be a convenient and versatile method to fabricate functional films. However, using traditional dipping LbL assembly to fabricate micrometer-thick films is time consuming. Compared with ultrathin films, micrometer-thick films prepared by LbL assembly possess enhanced mechanical stability, and allow deposition of a significantly increased amount of materials and the integration of multiple functions. These merits of thick films produced by LbL assembly can result in new functions and allow the functions of ultrathin films fabricated by LbL assembly to be optimized. In this tutorial review, the methods for rapid fabrication of thick polymeric films involving LbL assembly are reviewed. The functions of such films that are relevant to their micrometer thickness are discussed.     

聚合物层状组装膜

介绍了近几年来我们研究组在层状组装膜的构筑以及功能化研究方面取得的一些最新进展.包括结合表面溶胶-凝胶技术与静电层状组装技术,实现了二阶非线性基团在层状组装多层膜中的非对称排列,制备了具有二阶非线性效应的膜材料;采用室温压印技术,发展了一种简便、经济和具有普适性的层状组装聚合物膜图案化方法;以轻度交联的聚合物微凝胶为构筑基元,制备了具有高负载量的聚合物层状组装膜;发展了一种基于离子剥离技术的层状组装自支持膜制备方法;基于层状组装技术,制备了具有超疏水和抗反射功能的涂层.     

Coordinative supramolecular assembly of electrochromic thin films

The article is concerned with the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of electrochromic films using coordinative interactions between compounds. At first the concepts of coordinative supramolecular assembly are explained and examples are presented. Subsequently electrochromic LbL assemblies prepared upon electrostatic and/or coordinative interactions are briefly discussed. In the focus of the article are films of terpyridine(tpy)-functionalized polyiminoarylene metal ion complexes, which are prepared upon coordinative LbL assembly of the tpy-substituted polyiminoarylenes and metal ions. The films exhibit reversible electrochromic behavior with high contrast and fast response times. It is demonstrated that the electrochromic behavior of the films can be modified by a variation of polymer structure, metal ions, and counterions.     

聚合物复合物层层组装膜

层层组装是一种基于物质交替沉积而制备复合膜的方法,可以实现膜的结构和组成的精确调控.聚合物复合物是基于各种分子间弱相互作用力而形成的超分子聚集体,其种类包括聚阳离子-聚阴离子复合物、聚电解质-有机小分子复合物、中性聚合物-聚合物复合物以及聚合物-无机杂化复合物等.在本文中,以作者的研究结果为基础,阐明聚合物复合物的层层组装是一种方便、快捷的功能复合膜的构筑方法,具有如下优点:(1)聚合物复合物大的尺度可以实现聚合物复合物层层组装膜的快速构筑;(2)聚合物复合物的结构在组装溶液中和成膜后都容易调控,方便聚合物复合物层层组装膜结构的精细调控.(3)聚合物复合物层层组装膜可以构筑非复合的聚合物层层组装所不能获得的膜结构及功能.     

Fabrication of novel multilayered thin films based on inclusion complex formation between amylose derivatives and guest polymers

Novel types of layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly films were successfully fabricated onto a solid substrate through the inclusion complex formation between partially 2,3- O-methylated amyloses (MAs) and polytetrahydrofuran (PTHF). The formation of the LbL assembly films was confirmed by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) analysis, atomic force microscopy (AFM) observation, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement. The film formation was significantly affected by the methylation degree of amylose. When MAs with 8 and 20% methylation were used as hosts, the formation of LbL assembly films with PTHF was clearly observed. On the other hand, MAs with more than 33% methylation barely formed LbL assembly films with PTHF.     

基于非共价键作用力的纳米粒子层层组装薄膜

非共价键作用力常被用来构筑各种超分子结构,最有效的非共价键驱动力是静电相互作用力,被广泛应用于聚离子间的层层组装.本文简要介绍了基于非共价键驱动力的纳米粒子层层组装薄膜的制备及其组成、表面形貌、厚度和结构等的表征方法;分析了多层组装薄膜形成的普遍原理,认为静电相互作用力可能是主要成膜驱动力;归纳了现今比较常见的几种纳米粒子层层组装的类型,并总结了纳米粒子层层组装潜在的应用前景.     

智能响应与自修复的层层组装聚合物膜

具有刺激响应性和自修复功能的复合膜是重要的仿生功能膜材料.层层组装是一种基于物质交替沉积而制备复合膜的方法,可以实现膜的结构和组成的精确调控.通过结构与组成的精确调控,基于层层组装制备的微米厚度的聚电解质厚膜可以对外界刺激产生快速有效的响应,因而在制备智能仿生膜材料方面具有重要的价值.本文以作者的研究结果为基础,阐明了基于层层组装的聚电解质膜可以成功用于制备湿度和温度响应的双结构自支持膜和高效的促动器及行走机器,以及自修复超疏水和划痕修复聚电解质膜.     

Selective layer-by-layer self-assembly on patterned porous films modulated by Cassie-Wenzel transition

We describe a robust and facile approach to the selective modification of patterned porous films via layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly. Positively charged honeycomb-patterned films were prepared from polystyrene-block-poly(N,N-dimethyl-aminoethyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PDMAEMA) and a PS/PDMAEMA blend by the breath figure method followed by surface quaternization. Alginate and chitosan were alternately deposited on the films via LBL self-assembly. The assembly on the PS-b-PDMAEMA film exhibits two stages with different growth rates, as elucidated by water contact angles, fluorescence microscopy, and quartz crystal microbalance results. The assembly can be controlled on the top surface or across all surfaces of the film by changing the number of deposition cycles. We confirm that there exists a Cassie-Wenzel transition with an increase in deposition cycles, which is responsible for the tunable assembly. For the PS/PDMAEMA film, the pores can be completely wetted and the polyelectrolytes selectively assemble inside the pores, instead of on the top surface. The controllable selective assembly forms unique hierarchical structures and opens a new route for surface modification of patterned porous films.     

Amyloid-Like Assembly to Form Film at Interfaces: Structural Transformation and Application

Protein-based biomaterials are attracting broad interest for their remarkable structural and functional properties. Disturbing the native protein's three-dimensional structural stability in vitro and controlling subsequent aggregation is an effective strategy to design and construct protein-based biomaterials. One of the recent developments in regulating protein structural transformation to ordered aggregation is amyloid assembly, which generates fibril-based 1D to 3D nanostructures as functional materials. Especially, the amyloid-like assembly to form films at interfaces has been reported, which is induced by the effective reduction of the intramolecular disulfide bond. The main contribution of this amyloid-like assembly is the large-scale formation of protein films at interfaces and excellent adhesion to target substrates. This review presents the research progress of the amyloid-like assembly to form films and related applications and thereby provides a guide to exploiting protein-based biomaterials.     

Highly ion conductive poly(ethylene oxide)-based solid polymer electrolytes from hydrogen bonding layer-by-layer assembly

We report the development of a solid polymer electrolyte film from hydrogen bonding layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly that outperforms previously reported LBL assembled films and approaches battery integration capability. Films were fabricated by alternating deposition of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) layers from aqueous solutions. Film quality benefits from increasing PEO molecular weight even into the 10(6) range due to the intrinsically low PEO/PAA cross-link density. Assembly is disrupted at pH near the PAA ionization onset, and a potential mechanism for modulating PEO:PAA ratio within assembled films by manipulating pH is discussed. Ionic conductivity of 5 x 10(-5) S/cm is achievable after short exposure to 100% relative humidity (RH) for plasticization. Adding free ions by exposing PEO/ PAA films to lithium salt solutions enhanced conductivity to greater than 10(-5) S/cm at only 52% RH and tentatively greater than 10(-4) S/cm at 100% RH. The excellent stability of PEO/PAA films even when exposed to 1.0 M salt solutions led to an exploration of LBL assembly with added electrolyte present in the adsorption step. Fortuitously, the modulation of PEO/PAA assembly by ionic strength is analogous to that of electrostatic LBL assembly and can be attributed to electrolyte interactions with PEO and PAA. Dry ionic conductivity was enhanced in films assembled in the presence of salt as compared to films that were merely exposed to salt after assembly, implying different morphologies. These results reveal clear directions for the evolution of these promising solid polymer electrolytes into elements appropriate for electrochemical power storage and generation applications.     

Amperometric Hydrogen Peroxide Biosensor Based on the Immobilization of Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP) on the Layer‐by‐Layer Assembly Films of Gold Colloidal Nanoparticles and Toluidine Blue

The precursor film was first formed on the Au electrode surface based on the self‐assembly of L ‐cysteine and the adsorption of gold colloidal nanoparticles (nano‐Au). Layer‐by‐layer (LBL) assembly films of toluidine blue (TB) and nano‐Au were fabricated by alternately immersing the electrode with precursor film into the solution of toluidine blue and gold colloid. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) were adopted to monitor the regular growth of {TB/Au} bilayer films. The successful assembly of {TB/Au}_n films brings a new strategy for electrochemical devices to construct layer‐by‐layer assembly films of nanomaterials and low molecular weight materials. In this article, {TB/Au}_n films were used as model films to fabricate a mediated H₂O₂ biosensor based on horseradish peroxidase, which responded rapidly to H₂O₂ in the linear range from 1.5×10^?7 mol/L to 8.6×10^?3 mol/L with a detection limit of 7.0×10^?8 mol/L. Morphologies of the final assembly films were characterized with scanning probe microscopy (SPM).     

Interfacial assembly of cinnamoyl-terminated bolaamphiphiles through the air/water interface: headgroup-dependent assembly, supramolecular nanotube and photochemical sewing

A series of cinnamoyl-terminated bolaamphiphiles were synthesized and their assemblies at the air/water interface were investigated. It was found that the assembly behaviour depended on the substituted groups on the cinnamoyl unit. The bolaamphiphile with 4-hydroxycinnamoyl head groups (HCDA) was found to assemble into a supramolecular nanotube, while the others formed only layer-structured films. Moreover, the nanotube formed from HCDA showed supramolecular chirality due to the symmetry breaking. Both the layered films and the nanotubes showed photochemical dimerization upon UV irradiation, which were studied from the UV-Vis, FT-IR spectral and MALDI-TOF MS analysis. Interestingly, such dimerization behavior of the cinnamoyl group could be used to stabilize the nanotube of HCDAvia photochemical sewing. During such a process both the supramolecular chirality and the tubular shapes were kept. Remarkably, such a photochemical sewed chiral nanotube could further induce the chirality of an achiral porphyrin derivative assembled on it, and produced the induced chirality without using any chiral molecules.     

Assembly of ultrathin polymer multilayer films by click chemistry

Layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly is a versatile and robust technique for fabricating tailored thin films of diverse composition. Herein we report a new method of covalent coupling, click chemistry, to facilitate the LbL assembly of thin films. Linear film growth was observed using both UV-vis and FTIR spectroscopy, and film thicknesses were determined by ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy. The assembled films are shown to be stable in a wide pH range. This technique offers the potential to enable the synthesis of new types of stable and responsive LbL films from a variety of polymers.     

Layer-by-layer assembly of salt-containing polyelectrolyte complexes for the fabrication of dewetting-induced porous coatings

The layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of salt-containing nonstoichiometric polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) with oppositely charged uncomplexed polyelectrolyte for the fabrication of dewetting-induced porous polymeric films has been systematically investigated. Salt-containing poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) complexes (noted as PAH-PAA) with a molar excess of PAH were LbL assembled with polyanion poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) to produce PSS/PAH-PAA films. The structure of the PAH-PAA complexes is dependent on the concentration of NaCl added to their aqueous dispersions, which can be used to tailor the structure of the LbL-assembled PSS/PAH-PAA films. Porous PSS/PAH-PAA films are fabricated when salt-containing PAH-PAA complexes with a large amount of added NaCl are used for LbL assembly with PSS. In-situ and ex-situ atomic force microscopy measurements disclose that the dewetting process composed of pore nucleation and pore growth steps leads to the formation of pores in the LbL-assembled PSS/PAH-PAA films. The present study provides a facile way to fabricate porous polymeric films by dewetting LbL-assembled polymeric films comprising salt-containing PECs.     

Combining hydrogen-bonding complexation in solution and hydrogen-bonding-directed layer-by-layer assembly for the controlled loading of a small organic molecule into multilayer films

We have combined hydrogen-bonding complexation in solution and layer-by-layer assembly for the controlled loading of a water-insoluble small organic molecule, bis-triazine (DTA), an azobenzene derivative containing multiple hydrogen bond donors and acceptors, into layer-by-layer multilayer films of poly(acrylic acid) and diazo-resin. UV-visible spectroscopy indicates that DTA has been loaded into multilayer films, with the loading amount increasing linearly with the number of layers. The loading amount can be well tuned either by changing the concentration of DTA or the solvent composition at the complexation step. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy has revealed that both the complexation and layer-by-layer assembly are driven by hydrogen bonding. After photo-cross-linking and immersion in dimethyl sulfoxide to release DTA, the film can serve as an absorbent for DTA. This study provides a new unconventional layer-by-layer assembly that combines hydrogen-bonding complexation in solution and hydrogen-bond-driven layer-by-layer assembly at the interface. This method provides a new route to load a variety of water-insoluble functional organic molecules into layer-by-layer films.     

ATR-FTIR光谱技术在聚合物膜研究中的应用

红外光谱是聚合物研究中常用的一种表征手段，而衰减全反射红外光谱（ATR-FTIR）更是由于在研究聚合物薄膜方面具有显著的优势而被广泛使用。逐层组装（layer-by-layer Assembly）技术是一种常用的组装聚合物超薄膜的方法，ATR-FTIR光谱技术的引入可以在获取膜组装过程中相应信息的同时有效地避免表征过程中对样品的损害。另一方面，ATR-FTIR方法与二维相关光谱技术（two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy, 2D correlation spectroscopy）相结合也是研究小分子（主要是水分子）在聚合物薄膜中的渗透行为的有效手段。本文对ATR-FTIR的基本原理和显著特点作了介绍，并以实例阐述该方法在逐层组装技术和水分子在薄膜内渗透行为研究两方面的应用。     

多金属氧酸盐K17[Ce(P2Mo17O61)2]多层膜修饰电极的组装及其电化学行为

利用层接层自组装法(LbL), 制备出有序且稳定的多金属氧酸盐K17[Ce(P2Mo17O61)2]多层膜. 应用电化学, 紫外光谱和X射线光电子能谱等方法研究该化合物的电化学性质及其膜修饰电极的电化学性质.     

Polyelectrolyte adsorption and layer-by-layer assembly: Electrochemical control

Thin films formed via the adsorption or layer-by-layer assembly of charged polymers are important in many sensing, energy, and biomedical applications. When the underlying substrate is a (semi)conductor, the opportunity exists to influence film formation and film properties through an applied electric potential. The recent literature on electrochemical influence of polyelectrolyte-based films is reviewed, with a focus on monolayer and multilayer film assembly and disassembly. Of particular interest are monolayer films grown to a tailored thickness on the 10–100 nm scale, and polyelectrolyte multilayer films controllably disassembled, upon application of a modest electric potential. Experimental observations are discussed in terms of governing factors such as interfacial pH and ionic composition, counter-ion correlations, charge regulation, dielectric discontinuity, and short-range polymer–polymer interactions. Recent modeling efforts are also briefly addressed.     

Self-Assembly Anisotropic Magnetic Nanowire Films Induced by External Magnetic Field

Self-assembly generated materials induced by an external magnetic field have attracted considerable interest following the development of nanodevices. However, the fabrication of macroscopic and anisotropic magnetic films at the nanoscale remains a challenge. Here, anisotropic magnetic films are successfully prepared using a solution-based nanowire assembly strategy under a magnetic field. The assembly process is manipulated by changing the thickness of silica shell coated on the surface of magnetic nanowires. The anisotropic magnetic films show highly anisotropic magnetization under different angles of magnetic field and better magnetization properties than that of disordered magnetic films. The well-defined nanowire arrays enable magnetization anisotropic property which may be useful in the magnetic energy conversion technologies and biomedical sciences which lie far beyond those achievable with traditional magnetic materials.     

聚合物多层膜的表面分子工程

概述了作者及其研究群体发展的基于氢键、配位键和共价键的聚合物交替沉积组装方法.在此基础上,重点讨论将溶液中的超分子组装与界面交替沉积相结合的非常规界面交替沉积组装方法.通过结构构筑与功能组装的结合,实现了不同表面物理化学性质的可控调节,包括仿生矿化、超疏水涂层、可控组装与释放、表面分子印迹等.这些研究结果对发展基于聚合物多层膜的表面分子工程具有重要意义.