Langmuir–Blodgett films composed of amphiphilic double-decker shaped polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes

New amphiphilic polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSSs) were synthesized, and their monolayer behavior on a water surface and Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) film formation were studied. Two kinds of amphiphilic POSS molecules, which have two or four di(ethylene glycol) units (2OH-DDSQ and 4OH-DDSQ, respectively), were synthesized by direct hydrosilylation of di(ethylene glycol) vinyl ether with double-decker shaped polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (DDSQs). Surface pressure (π)–area (A) isotherms and Brewster angle microscope (BAM) measurements indicated that both amphiphilic DDSQs form a stable monolayer at the air–water interface. In addition, 4OH-DDSQ can be deposited on a solid substrate by the LB technique. Atomic force microscope (AFM) images of a one-layer 4OH-DDSQ film showed a homogenous uniform surface on a hydrophilic silicon substrate, whereas nanometer scale dots were formed on a hydrophobic silicon substrate. Multilayer deposition on a hydrophobic substrate resulted in an increase of dot size with increasing deposition number of layers. Moreover, homogenous multilayer films with a few voids were obtained on a hydrophilic substrate. The results indicate that 4OH-DDSQ is a good candidate for preparing hybrid nanoassemblies.