Buckling in a solid Langmuir monolayer: light scattering measurements and elastic model

Abstract:

Above a surface pressure threshold ${\pi _c}$, we detect a buckled state in the low temperature solid phase of a phospholipid monolayer spread at the air-formamide interface. Stable ripples are observed with a Brewster angle microscope, and light scattering provides measurements ${\pi _c} = 7$ mNm^-1, wavelength $\Lambda \approx 16\mu$m and amplitude $\xi$ of a few nm for the deformation. A model, coupling the monolayer thickness and elongation, and consistent with the monolayer texture, is also presented.