Influence of molecular organization of photo-active azo-phanes on the reactivity in monolayers at the air-water interface

The molecular organization of monolayers at the air-water interface of an amphiphilic azo-phane with unbranched n-dodecyl substituents differs from that of the analog with bulky 'tert'-octyl substituents as seen in the area per molecule. Complexation with sodium ions from the aqueous subphase, as deduced from measurement of the surface potential, is facilitated by closer approach of the macrocycles for the n-dodecyl-substituted azo-phane, since two macrocycles form the complex with Na+. The compensation of the positive charge after complexation in the case of a two-component monolayer of the n-dodecyl-substitued azo-phane and octadecanoic acid, molar ratio azo-phane to acid=2:1, enhances even more the complexation. The complex equilibrium constants and the contributions of the hydrophilic head group region to the surface potential are evaluated from Langmuir isotherm fits to the dependencies of the surface potential on the NaCl concentration in the aqueous subphase for the three monolayer systems investigated, i.e., the two different pure azo-phane monolayers and the two-component monolayer.