Study of assembly of arachidic acid/LDHs hybrid films containing photoactive dyes

Abstract

Hybrid monolayers formed with an floating arachidic acid (AA) anions monolayer binding with a densely packed layered double hydroxides (LDHs) monolayer at an air/LDHs suspension interface has been studied by π– A isotherms and TEM images. An ordered multilayer film of AA/LDHs has been fabricated by Langmuir–Blodgett technique on various substrates. The photoactive dyes (methyl orange, MO, and Congo red, CR) can be incorporated into the galleries of LDHs in the AA/LDHs hybrid LB film by an ion intercalation method. The results of FTIR and UV–vis absorption spectra can approve the formation of AA/LDHs/dyes composite films. In addition, UV–vis absorption spectra and LAXRD analyses also provide evidence for the good vertical uniformity and stable layered periodic structure of AA/LDHs/dyes films. More interestingly, it was found that the dye molecules intercalated can be induced by a positively charged LDHs sheet to align in a special orientation and form different aggregates: MO molecules form sandwich H-type aggregates, while CR molecules form head-to-tail J-type aggregates. On the basis of these data, a possible model of the AA/LDHs/dyes composite films was proposed. Also, the dye molecules incorporated into AA/LDHs films exhibit excellent configuration stability under the irradiation of UV light because the LDHs matrix offers a more rigid and constrained environment for them.