Refine
Has Fulltext
- no (25)
Year of publication
- 1995 (25) (remove)
Document Type
- Article (25)
Is part of the Bibliography
- yes (25)
Institute
Polypropylene membranes with deposited ultrathin "siin" layers are attractive for separation and cleaning of gaseous mixtures. In the present study, the surface morphology and wetting hysteresis of composite membranes consisting of a microporous polypropylene support and Langmuir-Blodgett ("skin") films, are investigated. The effect of the interlayer molecular interactions and the substrate features on the integrity and homogeneity of the "skin" layers is examined. Langmuir-Blodgett films of arachidic acid and cadmium and calcium arachidate are characterized both on smooth silicon and on porous polypropylene supports. Contact angle measurements and scanning force microscopy (SFM) are applied for investigations of the membrane surface modification upon transfer of a different number of monolayers. It was found that the contact angle hysteresis of the bare membrane decreases after the LB-deposition of close-packed monolayers. Smoothing of the membrane surface is also evidenced by the SFM images, on different length scales, confirming a good coverage of the membrane pores.
The structure of mono- and multilayers of amphiphilic disc-shaped pentaynes wa inbestigated by Brewsterangle microscopy, X-ray specular reflection and grazing incidence diffraction (GID). X-ray specular reflection experiments confirm the "edge on" arrangement of the molecular discs. The molecular modelling of the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB)- multilayers predicts a columnar in-plane packing of the molecules. A GID experiment with monochromatic synchrotron radiation was used to verify the predicted multilayer structure on molecular level, while the Brewsterangle microscopy gave a deeper insight in the monolayer in-plane structure on micron scale.
Langmuir monolayers of arachidic acid have been prepared on a subphase containing uranyl ions (O-U-O)ý+. The interaction between the uranyl ions and the monolayer of arachidic acid has been studied by means of surface pressure and surface potential isotherms and Brewster angle microscopy at different pH values (ranging from 1.5 to 8). A similar systematic study has been carried out in the presence of Cdý+ ions for comparison purposes. The surface pressure and surface potential isotherms demonstrate that the acid to salt conversion of arachidic acid in the presence of uranyl ions occurs at lower bulk pH values (pH=3.5) as compared with other bivalent metal counterions such as Cdý+. Changes in the surface morphology of the monolayer induced by the interaction with uranyl- and cadmium ions are analyzed and the correlation between the surface potential change and the morphology of the films is discussed.