Hybrid organic-inorganic nanostructures fabricated from layer-by-layer self-assembled multilayers of hyperbranched polyglycerols and phosphorus dendrimers

Multilayer thin films of cationic phosphorous dendrimers and anionic hyperbranched polyglycerols were fabricated by electrostatic layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly (SA). The film formation was monitored by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy and UV-visible spectroscopy, and it was found that the stepwise, alternating deposition results in a linear growth up to four bilayers. Hybrid organic-TiO2 nanostructures were generated by exposing the supramolecular multilayers to TiCl4 precursors. The amounts of TiO2 incorporated inside the scaffolds could be tuned by controlling the porosity of the multilayers with the addition of a small amount of salts. The resulting hybrid films exhibit characteristic photoluminescence (PL) properties.