Cargando…

Nanoscale Structure of Langmuir–Blodgett Film of Bent-Core Molecules

Bent-core mesogens (BCMs) are a class of thermotropic liquid crystals featuring several unconventional properties. However, the interpretation and technological exploitation of their unique behavior have been hampered by the difficulty of controlling their anchoring at surfaces. To tackle this issue...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Adamo, Fabrizio Corrado, Ciuchi, Federica, De Santo, Maria Penelope, Astolfi, Paola, Warner, Isabelle, Scharrer, Eric, Pisani, Michela, Vita, Francesco, Francescangeli, Oriano
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9268441/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35808121
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nano12132285
_version_ 1784743983336914944
author Adamo, Fabrizio Corrado
Ciuchi, Federica
De Santo, Maria Penelope
Astolfi, Paola
Warner, Isabelle
Scharrer, Eric
Pisani, Michela
Vita, Francesco
Francescangeli, Oriano
author_facet Adamo, Fabrizio Corrado
Ciuchi, Federica
De Santo, Maria Penelope
Astolfi, Paola
Warner, Isabelle
Scharrer, Eric
Pisani, Michela
Vita, Francesco
Francescangeli, Oriano
author_sort Adamo, Fabrizio Corrado
collection PubMed
description Bent-core mesogens (BCMs) are a class of thermotropic liquid crystals featuring several unconventional properties. However, the interpretation and technological exploitation of their unique behavior have been hampered by the difficulty of controlling their anchoring at surfaces. To tackle this issue, we report the nanoscale structural characterization of BCM films prepared using the Langmuir–Blodgett technique. Even though BCMs are quite different from typical amphiphilic molecules, we demonstrate that stable molecular films form over water, which can then be transferred onto silicon substrates. The combination of Brewster angle microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray reflectivity measurements shows that the molecules, once transferred onto a solid substrate, form a bilayer structure with a bottom layer of flat molecules and an upper layer of upright molecules. These results suggest that Langmuir–Blodgett films of BCMs can provide a useful means to control the alignment of this class of liquid crystals.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-9268441
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2022
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-92684412022-07-09 Nanoscale Structure of Langmuir–Blodgett Film of Bent-Core Molecules Adamo, Fabrizio Corrado Ciuchi, Federica De Santo, Maria Penelope Astolfi, Paola Warner, Isabelle Scharrer, Eric Pisani, Michela Vita, Francesco Francescangeli, Oriano Nanomaterials (Basel) Article Bent-core mesogens (BCMs) are a class of thermotropic liquid crystals featuring several unconventional properties. However, the interpretation and technological exploitation of their unique behavior have been hampered by the difficulty of controlling their anchoring at surfaces. To tackle this issue, we report the nanoscale structural characterization of BCM films prepared using the Langmuir–Blodgett technique. Even though BCMs are quite different from typical amphiphilic molecules, we demonstrate that stable molecular films form over water, which can then be transferred onto silicon substrates. The combination of Brewster angle microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray reflectivity measurements shows that the molecules, once transferred onto a solid substrate, form a bilayer structure with a bottom layer of flat molecules and an upper layer of upright molecules. These results suggest that Langmuir–Blodgett films of BCMs can provide a useful means to control the alignment of this class of liquid crystals. MDPI 2022-07-02 /pmc/articles/PMC9268441/ /pubmed/35808121 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nano12132285 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Adamo, Fabrizio Corrado
Ciuchi, Federica
De Santo, Maria Penelope
Astolfi, Paola
Warner, Isabelle
Scharrer, Eric
Pisani, Michela
Vita, Francesco
Francescangeli, Oriano
Nanoscale Structure of Langmuir–Blodgett Film of Bent-Core Molecules
title Nanoscale Structure of Langmuir–Blodgett Film of Bent-Core Molecules
title_full Nanoscale Structure of Langmuir–Blodgett Film of Bent-Core Molecules
title_fullStr Nanoscale Structure of Langmuir–Blodgett Film of Bent-Core Molecules
title_full_unstemmed Nanoscale Structure of Langmuir–Blodgett Film of Bent-Core Molecules
title_short Nanoscale Structure of Langmuir–Blodgett Film of Bent-Core Molecules
title_sort nanoscale structure of langmuir–blodgett film of bent-core molecules
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9268441/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35808121
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nano12132285
work_keys_str_mv AT adamofabriziocorrado nanoscalestructureoflangmuirblodgettfilmofbentcoremolecules
AT ciuchifederica nanoscalestructureoflangmuirblodgettfilmofbentcoremolecules
AT desantomariapenelope nanoscalestructureoflangmuirblodgettfilmofbentcoremolecules
AT astolfipaola nanoscalestructureoflangmuirblodgettfilmofbentcoremolecules
AT warnerisabelle nanoscalestructureoflangmuirblodgettfilmofbentcoremolecules
AT scharrereric nanoscalestructureoflangmuirblodgettfilmofbentcoremolecules
AT pisanimichela nanoscalestructureoflangmuirblodgettfilmofbentcoremolecules
AT vitafrancesco nanoscalestructureoflangmuirblodgettfilmofbentcoremolecules
AT francescangelioriano nanoscalestructureoflangmuirblodgettfilmofbentcoremolecules