Applications, molecular electronics Langmuir-Blodgett films

Verani and coworkers widely investigated stimuli-responsive soft materials with interesting optical and redox behaviors. Such materials are able to self-assembly in functional ordered structures, as Langmuir-Blodgett films and liquid crystals, and possess potential applications in molecular electronics and magnetic films as well. These compounds are mainly based on Co(II) (94), Co(III) (95), Cu(II) (96), Fe(II)/Fe(III) (97), and Ni (II) and Zn(II) (98). A recent overview dedicated to colloidal systems, and their application in different fields has recently appeared in the literature (99). 

The highly oriented molecules in thin organic films such as Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films and self-assembled monolayers (SAM) [1] are essential for some molecular functions. Non linear optical and opto-electronic properties are two of the most important and interesting functions of these molecular assemblies. In the past more than thirteen years, simulation of the primary process of photosynthesis using such molecular assemblies and its application to molecular photodiodes [2,3] have been one of the main subjects of our laboratory. 

Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) Films. This research field is of growing interest, because of the potential applications in molecular electronics [88]. From a fundamental point of view, the interest in creating conducting films is to try to orient the molecular organization and the associated physical properties in a different way, compared to classical crystal growth, but... 

By its very nature, copolymerization offers the unique capability or opportunity for chemists to design and construct molecules with special electronic properties using established techniques. The Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique, for instance, enables the chemist to organize molecules into highly ordered monolayers and to manipulate a multilayer film to a desired architecture. Copolymerization enables the molecular architect or tailor to incorporate various molecules, e.g. biological components, into electroactive PP and PT polymers. The number of potential applications for these unique materials is unlimited. 

Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films are molecularly ordered layers of amphiphatic molecules on a solid support. The special, well-defined layer structure offers the potential of its use in fields such as electronics, microlithography, biosensors, and corrosion protection [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The stability of LB films under various conditions has been and still is a crucial issue in practical applications [6, 7, 8, 9, 10], although the possible change of LB layers in an aqueous environment has obtained less attention [11,12, 13, 14]. 

Structurally controlled organic thin films are expected for the application in functional sensors and electronic devices [1-5]. Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique is one of the most promising methods for preparing mono-molecular layered structure in atomic scale. It is also inevitable that the physical and electronic properties of such advanced thin film are only defined after the detailed characterization of the structure of those films. 

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