METHOD FOR CHEMICALLY BONDING LANGMUIR-BLODGETT FILMS TO SUBSTRATES

摘要

A method of attaching a molecular layer to a substrate (38, 40) includes attaching a temporary protecting group(s) (32, 36) to a molecule (18) having a molecular switching moiety (26) with first and second connecting groups (30, 28) attached to opposed ends thereof. The temporary protecting group(s) (32, 36) is attached to the first and/or second connecting group (30, 28) so as to cause the opposed ends of the switching moiety (26) to exhibit a difference in hydrophilicity such that one of the ends remains at at least one of a water/solvent interface (34) and a water/air interface (34), and the other end remains in air during a Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) process. An LB film is formed on the interface (34). The temporary protecting group(s) (32, 36) is removed. The substrate (38, 40) is passed through the LB film to form the molecular layer chemically bonded on the substrate (38, 40). The difference in hydrophilicity between the opposed ends causes formation of a substantially well-oriented, uniform LB film at the interface (34).