Atypical Film-Forming Behavior of Soluble Tetra-3-Nitro-Substituted Copper Phthalocyanine |
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| Authors: | Dr. Svetlana V. Zaitseva Dr. Simona Bettini Prof. Ludovico Valli Prof. Arkadiy M. Kolker Dr. Nicholas Y. Borovkov |
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| Affiliation: | 1. G. A. Krestov Institute of Solution Chemistry, Russian Academy of Science, 1, Akademicheskaya St., 153045 Ivanovo, Russia;2. Department of Engineering for Innovation Campus University Ecotekne, University of Salento, Via per Monteroni, I-73100 Lecce, Italy;3. Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, DISTEBA, University of Salento, Via per Arnesano, I-73100 Lecce, Italy |
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| Abstract: | Thin films of metal phthalocyanines (MPc) are known to exhibit excellent physical properties but poorly controlled morphologies. Therefore, the present work seeks to understand the film growth mechanism of a model compound for potentially usable MPc, specifically, copper tetra(3-nitro-5-tert-butyl)phthalocyanine (CuPc*). The Langmuir-Schaefer (LS) technique was applied to prepare a series of CuPc* films under different processing conditions. The film growth was examined by Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) on the water surface and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) from the solid films. Neutron reflectometry (NR) measurements of the water uptake into the films and computer simulation of hydrated CuPc* were performed to substantiate an idea of colloidal MPc-water aggregates as nanoscale precursors of smooth solid films. This idea appears fruitful in terms of materials chemistry. |
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| Keywords: | phthalocyanines aggregation Langmuir-Blodgett films nanostructures structure elucidation |
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