Z-type deposition of a polymerizable amphiphile to fabricate an immobilized LB film showing strong second harmonic generation

Abstract

With an attempt to strengthen the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film of 5-(p-dodecyloxyphenyl)pyrazine-2-carboxylic acid 1, an amphiphile 2 with an acryloyloxy group at the end of the hydrophobic group alkyl group of 1, was synthesized. The transfer of the monolayer of 2 onto a quartz substrate was observed only in up-strokes, implying the formation of a Z-type LB film. The Z-type LB film structure could be immobilized by photopolymerization with UV light on every deposition. The LB film showed strong second order optical non-linearity and was proved to be more stable than the alternative LB film of 1.