Prepolymerized Langmuir-Blodgett films of n-octadecylsiloxane monolayers

Monolayers of n-octadecylsiloxane (ODS) have been prepared by Langmuir-Blodgett film transfer of pre-polymerized films onto oxidized silicon substrates at a surface pressure of 20 mN.m(2). Characterization by infrared spectroscopy, single-wavelength ellipsometry, and contact angle measurements show that highly organized structures are formed which are nearly identical to those reported for ODS films made by solution self-assembly. Atomic force microscopy images reveal that the macroscopic structure of the LB film consists of large, dense domains on the size scale of similar to 10 mu m.