Defects in the layering of Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films can be eliminated by depositing from the appropriate monolayer phase at the air-water interface. LB films deposited from the hexagonal phase of cadmium arachidate (CdA2) at pH 7 spontaneously transform into the bulk soap structure, a centrosymmetric bilayer with an orthorhombic herringbone packing. A large wavelength folding mechanism acce...

Amphiphiles with a dendritic structure are attractive materials as they combine the features of dendrimers with the self-assembling properties and interfacial behavior of water-air affinities. We have synthesized three generations of polyester dendrimers and studied their interfacial properties on the Langmuir films. The behavior obtained was, as a rule, the lowest generation dendrimers behavin...

Photoinduced electron transfer from an excited donor molecule (oxacyanine) to an acceptor molecule (viologen) located at the same interface in monolayer assemblies has been studied by measuring steady state fluorescence quenching and the excited state decay of the donor molecule. Donor and acceptor molecules are incorporated in matrix monolayers of arachidic acid and methyl arachidate, with a m...

We have investigated the self-assembling properties of the class I hydrophobin Vmh2 isolated from the fungus Pleurotus ostreatus. Five different hydrophobin self assembled samples including monolayers, bilayers, and rodlets have been prepared by Langmuir technique and studied at the nanoscale. Local wettability and visco-elasticity of the different hydrophobins samples were obtained from atomic...

This thesis describes immobilisation techniques for biomolecules on solid surfaces via an intermediate self-assembled or Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film. Such films are advantageous, because the biological activity can be optimised by tailoring the layer composition. Factors like charge density, density of the linking group and composition of the monolayer matrix have particularly large effects on ...

Langmuir-Blodgett deposition has been used to form thin film networks of both metallic and semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes. These have been investigated to understand their physical, optical, and morphological properties. The electrical conductivities over the temperature range 80-350 K and across electrode gaps of 220 nm and 2 mm have been explored. In the case of semiconducting ...