High precision nanoscale AFM height measurements of J-aggregates

Abstract

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to obtain high-resolution images of nanosized organic J-aggregate molecular crystals of 3,3′-di(gamma-sulfopropyl)-5,5-dichlorotiamonomethinecyanine (TC) and 3,3′-bis(2-sulfopropyl)-5,5′,6,6′-tetrachloro-1,1′-dioctylbenzimidacarbocyanine (C8S3) and precise height measurements of J-aggregates monolayers were conducted. It was found that TC J-aggregates obtained both in the solution bulk and by self-assembly on the mica surface are extended monolayer sheets of high mechanical flexibility. The height of TC is 1.05 ± 0.05 nm, which corresponds to the crystallographic size of a single molecule along the short axis. A model of asymmetric single-layer molecular packing is suggested in which sulfopropyl groups are located on the same side of the layer plane. In the case of C8S3, narrow multilayer ribbonlike structures with heights of 3 to 30 nm were observed. The heights are strictly quantized with a step of 3 nm. A bilayer model of C8S3 molecular packing in J-aggregates is discussed with partially interpenetrating monolayers with hydrophobic sides oriented face to face. A model of structural C8S3 units as “elementary ribbons” with the transverse dimensions of 3 × 4 nm is suggested on the basis of the comparison of AFM data with electron microscopy data from other works.