Blodgett, Katherine

Monolayers and multilayers on solid substrates have come a long way since their initial preparation by Katherine Blodgett during the 1930s [133, 134], Deservedly termed as Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films , they have flourished... 

In 1935 Katherine Blodgett transferred mono- and multilayers of fatty acids on solid substrates. This is in general successful only if the surface pressure of the solid monolayer reaches values above 60 N/m. In the 1970s Hans Kuhn optimized this technique by introducing multilayers in X, Y, and Z-orientations on solid surfaces (Figure 1.5.10) (Fendler, 1982 Ulman, 1991 Tredgold, 1994). 

Ra)tner-Canham, Marelene, and Geoffrey Rayner-Canham. Women in Chemistry Their Changing Roles from Alchemical Times to the Mid-Twentieth Century. Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia American Chemical Society and the Chemical Heritage Foundation, 1998. This book includes brief discussions of Agnes Pockels, Katherine Burr Blodgett, and Maud Lenora Menten. 

The original work carried out by Langmuir was the ability to form and transfer monolayers of fatty acid, ester and alcohol monolayers onto solid substrates. Several years later, Katherine Blodgett showed that multilayer films can also be formed and transferred onto solid substrates. The ability to transfer layers of organic material from a liquid phase, typically water, to a solid substrate allows the careful construction of ordered layer structures at a molecular level... 

---