Solvent Dependence of the Conformational Order in Self-Assembled Dialkylammonium Monolayers on Mica Studied by Soft X-Ray Absorption

Georg Hähner, M Zwahlen, W Caseri

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Dialkyldimethylammonium films on mica prepared via ion exchange from solution have been reported to be of high quality in terms of their density and molecular orientation. Different preparation procedures are described in the literature. The molecular order and the inclination of the alkyl chains, however, are often deduced from indirect experimental evidence such as the wettability and the film thickness. In the present study we employed near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS) to determine directly the order of the molecules adsorbed from different solvents (water, methanol, water/methanol 1:1, cyclohexanol, and chloroform). It was found that films prepared from different solvents are displaying large differences in the established surface coverage and orientation. In particular, NEXAFS disclosed that the orientation of the alkyl chains can differ significantly even when similar water contact angle values are observed. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)45
Number of pages45
JournalJournal of Colloid and Interface Science
Volume291
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2005

Keywords

  • ion-exchanged films mica
  • surfactants
  • dialkyldimethylammonium ions
  • solvent
  • molecular orientation
  • NEXAFS
  • HYDROPHOBIC SURFACES
  • ELECTRONIC-STRUCTURE
  • MUSCOVITE MICA
  • ALKYL CHAINS
  • ORIENTATION
  • SPECTROSCOPY
  • SURFACTANTS
  • ADSORPTION
  • LAYERS
  • FILMS

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