Study of self-assembled multilayers of phosphonic acids by energy dispersive diffraction

Author(s)

Muriel de Pauli

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin
• Defense date: 2012-02-16

Examining board members

Angelo Malachias de Souza; Harry Westfahl Junior; Iris Concepcion Linares de Torriani

• Advisor: Eduardo Granado Monteiro da Silva; Angelo Malachias de Souza

Abstract

This thesis comprises structural and thermodynamic studies on self-assembled organic systems using synchrotron x-ray scattering techniques. Multilayers obtained from selforganization of phosphonic acid molecules were analyzed for two different compounds: the octadecylphosphonic acid [OPA ¿ CH2(CH3)17PO(OH)2] and the octylphosphonic acid [OcPA ¿ CH2(CH3)7PO(OH)2]. Using the source of the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) we have performed an ensemble of experiments to investigate their lamellar and in-plane order of these molecules and their behavior. Conventional angle-resolved X-ray diffraction measurements were analyzed using kinematical models and allowed to verify the coexistence of distinct lamellar configurations as well as to track changes as the temperature rises. Once structural parameters were determined from the established models, detailed information about the relative volume of each lamellar configuration was retrieved using energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction, a technique still poorly explored in Brazil. This allowed identifying the most stable configurations at high temperatures. The in-plane order of molecules was also studied using x-ray transmission geometry via a wide-angle x-ray scattering setup. Gathering the above mentioned information we have built phase diagrams depicting the lamellar and planar packing of OPA and OcPA molecules as a function of temperature. Finally, we have performed a study of the critical behavior of the ordered configurations in the vicinity of order-disorder transition temperatures for each molecule. The preliminary results explained in the final chapter of this work shed light into the short- and long-range order behavior of the two systems (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 09/11875-2 - Energy dispersive diffraction study of long range ordering and thermodynamic properties of phosphonic acid multilayers
• Grantee: Muriel de Pauli
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master