Surface structure of Langmuir-Blodgett films of lipophilic guanosine derivatives

We studied surface organization of lipophilic guanosine derivatives with one, two and three alkanoyl tails in thin films on water surface and in Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films transferred onto freshly cleaved mica substrate. The derivative with one alkanoyl group exhibits irreversible pressure-area isotherms and ribbon-like LB film structures. The derivatives with two and three side groups show reversible isotherms with similar critical surface pressures, while their LB film structures are quite different. The derivative with two tails forms films with flat terraces of micrometer size, while the derivative with three tails exhibits irregular thread-shaped assemblies. These observations demonstrate that molecular assembly of LB films of guanosine derivatives can be effectively manipulated by altering the number of attached lipophilic groups.     

一种可溶喹吖啶酮衍生物LB膜的光谱特性

采用表面压-分子面积(π~A)等温曲线、紫外-可见吸收谱和荧光光谱的方法研究了一种喹吖啶酮衍生物材料LB膜的制备及其光谱特性。实验表明,这种喹吖啶酮衍生物能够在水面上形成稳定的单分子膜,它与花生酸(AA)混合后不仅可以形成很好的单分子膜,而且可以较好的转移到固体基片上制备成LB膜多层膜。这种喹吖啶酮衍生物LB膜的紫外-可见吸收谱的吸收峰位较稀溶液发生了红移,这是由极性溶剂分子与其相互作用的结果。其溶液有很强的荧光效应,但LB膜没有荧光现象,原因是在LB膜中QAC16的浓度过高发生“自我猝息”而失光。它在溶液和LB膜中都是以单体的形式存在。     

Assemblies, characterization, and luminescent enhancement of organized molecular films based on rare earth complexes

Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of different molar percentages of Eu(TTA)₃Phen (TTA=2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone; Phen=1,10-phenanthroline) with Gd(TTA)₃Phen coexisting with arachidic acid (AA) (complexes:AA=1:l, in molar ratio) were fabricated and the luminescence enhancement of Eu(III) in the films was studied in this investigation. The monolayers and LB films were characterized by π-A isotherms, fluorescence microscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy and low-angle X-ray diffraction. High-quality LB films and strongly luminescent films were obtained. It was learned from the present study that an efficient intermolecular energy transfer occurred from Gd(TTA)₃Phen to Eu(TTA)₃Phen in the films, which resulted in the luminescence enhancement effect. According to the proposed model of the “active enhancement circle” the distance of energy transfer from Gd-, Tb-, La-, and Y-complex to Eu-complex were calculated to be 1.2, 1.2, 0.7 and 1.0 nm, respectively.     

半花菁／氮冠（醚）交替LB多层膜的二阶光学非线性性质

对一种新型的，具有双脂链的盘状非活性分子氮冠（醚）（ＮＣ）ＬＢ膜进行了表征。小角Ｘ射线衍射（ＳＡＸＤ）结果表明：纯ＮＣ分子可以形成非常好的ＬＢ膜有序结构。将它与活性分子半花菁（ＤＡＥＰ）制备成Ｙ型交替多层膜，由于半花菁分子的单脂链（长尾）可以镶嵌在ＮＣ分子的双脂链之间，改善了多层膜的结构有序性及稳定性，从而得到二次谐波强度随层数的变化在１￣１１６双层范围内显示出较理想的平方关系。通过二次谐波的测量     

Role of lateral alkyl chains in modulation of molecular structures on metal surfaces

We use low energy electron diffraction, scanning tunneling microscopy, first-principles density-functional theory, and molecular mechanics calculations to analyze the adsorption and growth of quinacridone derivatives (QA) with alkyl chains of 4 and 16 carbon atoms on a Ag(110) substrate. Surprisingly, we find that the alkyl chains determine the orientation of the molecular overlayers. While the interaction of QA and the Ag substrate is primarily due to chemical bonding of oxygen to the silver substrate, determining the molecular orientation and preferred adsorption site, the intermolecular arrangement can be adjusted via the length of alkyl chains. We are thus able to fabricate uniform QA films with very well controlled physical properties.     

Spectral properties of naphthalimide dyes mixed with 4-heptyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl (7CB) in Langmuir-Blodgett films

Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films formed of some fluorescent dyes, namely derivatives of 4-aminonaphthalimide, and their binary mixtures with the liquid crystal 4-heptyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl (7CB) have been studied. The electronic absorption and fluorescence spectra were recorded. On the basis of these spectra, the spectral properties of the dyes and the intermolecular interactions in ultrathin ordered films were determined. The conclusions about the tendency to the creation of aggregates by dye molecules in LB films have been drawn. The measurements of absorption by using linearly polarised light have allowed us to determine the arrangement of the dye and liquid crystal molecules on the air-solid substrate interface.     

Polymeric arrayed waveguide grating using imprint method incorporating a flexible PDMS stamp

A polymeric arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) has been proposed and demonstrated by employing the nanoimprint method. A flexible PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) stamp with the device patterns engraved was developed from a rigid master mold made of quartz glass, featuring uniform precision contact with and easy separation from polymer films. The device was fabricated by replicating the pattern on the stamp in a core polymer layer, with no etching process involved. For our device, the number of the output channels is eight and the center wavelength of each output channel is positioned from 1543.7 nm to 1548.3 nm with the spacing of 0.8 nm. The achieved channel crosstalk was about 10 dB and the 3 dB bandwidth approximately 0.8 nm.     

Determination of backbone chain direction of PDA using FFM

The effect of backbone chains on friction force was investigated on both Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of 10,12-heptacosadiynoic acid and the (0 1 0) surfaces of single crystals of 2,4-hexadiene-1,6-diol using friction force microscopy (FFM). It was observed that friction force decreased when the scanning direction was parallel to the [0 0 1] direction in both samples. Moreover, friction force decreased when the scanning direction was parallel to the crystallographic [1 0 2], [1 0 1], [1 0 0] and directions in only the single crystals. For the LB films, the [0 0 1] direction corresponds to the backbone chain direction of 10,12-heptacosadiynoic acid. For the single crystals, both the [0 0 1] and [1 0 1] directions correspond to the backbone chain direction, and the [1 0 2], [1 0 0] and directions correspond to the low-index crystallographic direction. In both the LB films and single crystals, the friction force was minimized when the directions of scanning and the backbone chain were parallel.     

Role of various LB parameters on the optical characteristics of mixed Langmuir-Blodgett films

This communication reports the spectroscopic characterizations of mixed Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of non-amphiphilic N,N-bis (2,5-di-tert-butylphenyl)- 3,4,9-perylenedicarboximide (DBPI) molecules, mixed with polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and stearic acid (SA). J- aggregates of DBPI molecules in the mixed LB films have been confirmed by UV-Vis absorption spectroscopic study. Formation of organized structure of molecular stacking in the mixed LB films gives rise to the strong excimeric emission, which is manifested by a broad structureless band in the longer wavelength region of the fluorescence spectra and is confirmed by excitation spectroscopic study. A weak hump at around 576 nm due to monomeric emission is observed in the fluorescence spectra of 0.1 M of DBPI-PMMA mixed LB films of lower number of layers. The intensity of the 0-0 band at 530 nm in the fluorescence spectra is observed to be a function of the molefraction, number of layers, surface pressure of lifting and the matrix materials.     

芪盐LB多层膜的三维荧光谱分析

采用稳态、时间分辨荧光和三维荧光光谱技术研究了芪盐有机分子在溶液和芪盐/花生酸交替LB多层膜中的激发态的动力学特性.研究表明,芪盐分子在LB膜中形成H-聚集体,使得其荧光光谱发生蓝移.由于偶极间的相互作用使得聚集体的能级发生分裂,荧光衰减曲线可用双指数函数进行拟合.三维荧光谱发现随着衰减时间的推移,荧光峰逐渐向长波方向移动,不同波段具有不同的衰减驰豫时间.     

Actions of sodium nitrite on long period fiber grating with self-assembled polyelectrolyte films

In this paper, the ultrathin membranes of poly(sodium-p-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) and poly-dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride (PDDA) are assembled on the surface of long period fiber gratings (LPFGs). The experiments indicate that the transmission spectra characteristics of LPFGs have greater change when bilayer number changed from 75 to 130. The action of sodium nitrite on the LPFGs is researched. The LPFGs without assembled films are not able to distinguish the concentrations of sodium nitrite solutions in the range of 0.001-0.2 mol/L. However, LPFGs assembled polyelectrolyte films of 130 bilayers have a higher distinguishability for these concentrations of sodium nitrite. With the increase of sodium nitrite concentrations, the center wavelengths of attenuation bands gradually shift towards the longer wavelength and represent a good linear relationship with concentrations. The method has the advantages such as low cost, no toxin, fast speed, no time limit. It is hopeful to be applied in real-time and on-line monitoring of sodium nitrite.     

Patterning silver nanocubes in monolayers using phase separated lipids as templates

Strategies for assembling silver nanocubes (NCs) into distinct 2D patterns on Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) films are demonstrated using two different lipid mixtures as vehicles: (1) raft mixtures containing 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC), sphingomyelin (SPM), and cholesterol in different mole ratios (2:2:1 and 1:1:1) and (2) 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) and 1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DLPC) at a 1:3 mol ratio. Atomic force microscopy was employed to unveil the mechanisms of such pattern formation in the LB film. The results demonstrate that aggregation of NCs into round-like pattern is governed by preferential localization of NCs within the liquid condensed (LC) domains of DOPC/SPM/Cholesterol mixture. Cholesterol was found to govern the size and shape of the rounded islands. On the other hand, incorporation of NCs within the liquid expanded (LE) phase of DPPC/DLPC mixture produced linear-branched chains, oriented normal to the Langmuir film transfer direction. The as engineered patterns of silver NCs exhibited characteristic plasmonic signatures. Our results reveal the potential in assembling plasmonic metal nanoparticles into diverse patterns on solid substrates by exploiting their preferential localization either in LC or LE phase of appropriate lipid mixture in Langmuir film.     

Co-based nanogranular thin films on flexible substrate for gigahertz applications

The Co-based granular thin films were deposited on the flexible substrate (Kapton) by magnetron sputtering. The films comprise of Co nanocrystallites and small amount of amorphous (Al,O)-rich inter-granular phase and have the electric resistivities in the range 50–120 μΩ cm, depending on the composition and thickness. The as-deposited films with thickness <80 nm have low coercivity (<20 Oe along hard direction), high permeability (up to 500) and resonance frequency up to 2.5 GHz. Compared to the rigid films, the flexible films have relatively higher coercivity and lower resonance frequency. A comparison between Co-based granular films and FeTaN continuous films has also been discussed.     

Bending of charged flexible membranes due to the presence of macroions

We investigate the bending of flexible charged membranes due to the presence of rigid rodlike macroions in the framework of the Debye-Hückel approximation. When the macroions are fixed in space at some distance from the bilayer the membrane bends towards them; we calculate the exact deformation profile. On the other hand a macroion which is adsorbed on the membrane causes a deflection of the bilayer. Finally, we consider swollen lamellar polyanion/charged-lipid complexes where the macroions are intercalated between charged lipid bilayers. We predict the occurrence of a double adsorption (pinching effect) of the macroion for sufficiently flexible membranes. Received: 9 February 1998 / Revised: 9 June 1998 / Accepted: 2 July 1998     

Novel benzanthrone aminoderivatives for membrane studies

The potential of novel benzanthrone aminoderivatives to trace the changes in physicochemical properties of lipid bilayer has been evaluated. Binding of the dyes to the lipid bilayers composed of zwitterionic phospholipid phosphatidylcholine (PC) and its mixtures with anionic phospholipid cardiolipin (CL) and cholesterol (Chol) was followed by significant quantum yield increase with small blue shift of emission maximum. Analysis of partition coefficients of the dyes under study showed that all aminobenzanthrones possess high lipid-associating ability. The dyes A8 and AM2 proved to be sensitive to the variations in membrane chemical composition responding to the changes in bilayer hydration induced by CL and Chol.     

Substrate temperature influence on the properties of nanostructured ZnO transparent ultrathin films grown by PLD

Zinc oxide films of 40 nm thickness have been deposited on glass substrates by pulsed laser deposition using an excimer XeCl laser (308 nm) at different substrate temperatures ranging from room temperature to 650 °C. Surface investigations carried out by using atomic force microscopy have shown a strong influence of temperature on the films surface topography. UV-VIS transmittance measurements have shown that our ZnO films are highly transparent in the visible wavelength region, having an average transmittance of ∼90%. The optical band gap of the films was found to be 3.26 eV, which is lower than the theoretical value of 3.37 eV. Besides the normal absorption edge related to the transition between the valence and the conduction band, an additional absorption band was also recorded in the wavelength region around 364 nm (∼3.4 eV). This additional absorption band may be due to excitonic, impurity, and/or quantum size effects. Photoreduction/oxidation in ozone of the ZnO films lead to larger conductivity changes for higher deposition temperature. In conclusion, the ozone sensing characteristics as well as the optical properties of the ZnO thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition are strongly influenced by the substrate temperature during growth. The sensitivity of the films towards ozone might be enhanced significantly by the control of the films deposition parameters and surface characteristics.     

Examining Protein-Lipid Interactions in Model Systems with a New Squarylium Fluorescent Dye

The applicability of newly synthesized squarylium dye Sq to probing the changes in physical characteristics of lipid bilayer on the formation of protein-lipid complexes has been evaluated. Lipid vesicles composed of zwitterionic phospholipid phosphatidylcholine (PC) and its mixtures with positively charged detergent cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), anionic phospholipid cardiolipin (CL), and cholesterol (Chol) were employed as lipid component of model membrane systems while protein constituent was represented by lysozyme (Lz). Fluorescence intensity of Sq was found to decrease on Lz association with lipid bilayer. This effect was observed in all kinds of model systems suggesting that Sq is sensitive to modification of lipid bilayer physical properties on hydrophobic protein-lipid interactions. It was found that Sq spectral response to variations in Chol content depends on relative contributions of electrostatic and hydrophobic components of Lz-membrane binding.     

两种烷基取代喹吖啶酮衍生物LB膜的荧光特性

制备了两种烷基取代喹吖啶酮衍生物C6DHQA和C16DMQA的X型Langmuir-Blodgett(LB)膜,采用紫外-可见吸收、稳态荧光和时间分辨荧光的方法研究其溶液及LB的光学特性。研究结果表明,C16DMQA比C6DHQA的吸收谱整体红移,说明烷基链加长减小了分子的能级间隔;两者LB膜的吸收谱较溶液整体红移,说明在LB膜中形成了"J-聚集体"。两种材料的溶液及LB膜都有较强的荧光发射,溶液的荧光谱与吸收谱有很好的镜像对称关系,形成LB膜后,镜像对称关系被打破,两者第三个荧光峰相对强度差别很大。C6DHQA溶液中的荧光寿命为21ns左右,C16DMQA溶液中的荧光寿命为22ns左右,形成LB膜后,荧光寿命明显较少,两者第三个荧光峰对应的荧光寿命差别较大。其原因应归于C16DMQA分子在基板上的排列更密,分子间的相互作用力强,从而对能级结构的影响更大。     

Infrared optical properties of Ba(Zr0.20Ti0.80)O3 and Ba(Zr0.30Ti0.70)O3 thin films prepared by sol-gel method

Ba(Zr_xTi_1−x)O₃ (BZT) (x = 0.20 and 0.30) thin films are deposited on Pt(1 1 1)/Ti/SiO₂/Si(1 0 0) substrate by sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction patterns show that the thin films have a good crystallinity. Optical properties of the films in the wavelength range of 2.5-12 μm are studied by infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry (IRSE). The optical constants of the BZT thin films are determined by fitting the IRSE data using a classical dispersion formula. As the wavelength increases, the refractive index decreases, while the extinction coefficients increase. The effective static ionic charges are derived, which are smaller than that in a purely ionic material for the BZT thin films.     

Influence of Al-doping on the structure and optical properties of ZnO films

Al-doped ZnO (ZnO:Al) thin films with c-axis preferred orientation were deposited on glass substrates using the radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering technique. The effect of Al concentrations on the microstructure and the luminescence properties of the ZnO:Al thin films were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and fluorescence spectrophotometer. The results showed that the crystallization of the films was promoted by appropriate Al concentrations; the photoluminescence spectra (PL) of the samples were measured at room temperature. Strong blue peak located at 437 nm (2.84 eV) and two weak green peaks located at about 492 nm (2.53 eV) and 524 nm (2.37 eV) were observed from the PL spectra of the four samples. The origin of these emissions was discussed. In addition, absorption and transmittance properties of the samples were researched by UV spectrophotometer; the UV absorption edge shifted to a shorter wavelength first as Al was incorporated, and then to a longer wavelength with the increasing Al concentrations. The optical band gaps calculated based on the quantum confinement model are in good agreement with the experimental values.