Block copolymers of o-PPV organized at the molecular scale as Langmuir and Langmuir-Blodgett films

The control over the molecular architecture of polymeric films can be useful to enhance the properties of polymeric devices. In this paper, poly(o-phenylene vinylene) was spread on the air-water interface in order to form stable Langmuir monolayers. These films were investigated with measurements of surface pressure, surface potential, and polarization modulation infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS). They were transferred from the air-water interface to solid supports through the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique, and characterized with PM-IRRAS and atomic force microscopy, with the viability of the film as an optical device investigated with fluorescence spectroscopy. The immobilization of polymeric chains on solid supports as LB films may provide a high control of their molecular properties, which may enable such molecular architecture to be applied as an optoelectronic device. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.