Organized Molecular Assemblies based on Ferrocenyl Derivatives

Abstract

Organic films with a thickness of few nanometers are potentially useful components in many practical and commercial applications such as sensors, detectors, displays and electronic circuit components. In this context, the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) method is one the most promising techniques for preparing these films.

In this work, we report the synthesis and characterization of three new amphiphilic organometallic compounds with ferrocene units, which consist of one ferrocenyl aminocarbene with the general formula FcC=Cr(CO)₅NH(CH₂)₁₅CH₃, and two ferrocenyl amides with the general formula FcC=MNH(CH₂)₁₅CH₃ where M = S or Se. These new derivatives have been synthesized to study the influence of long alkyl side chain and the hydrophilic head on the film organization behavior at the air-water interface.

The Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique was focused for building ordered nanostructures in molecular assemblies of ferrocenyl derivatives, which are apt to form a stable and transferable monolayer film. The π-A isotherm, hysteresis, Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) and film stability were used to characterize the behavior of a monolayer film at the air-water interface. Z- type LB films were prepared from molecular monolayers which were transferred onto glass substrates. These films were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-Visible spectra and X-ray diffraction (DRX) techniques.