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We have characterized the structure of J-aggregate in a Langmuir-Blodgett film of pure merocyanine dye (MS18) fabricated under an aqueous subphase containing a cadmium ion (Cd2+) and have investigated its thermal behavior by UV-visible and IR absorption spectroscopy in the range from 25 to 250 degrees C with a continuous scan. The results of both UV-visible and IR absorption spectra indicate that temperature-dependent changes in the MS18 aggregation state in the pure MS18 system are closely and mildly linked with the MS18 intramolecular charge transfer and the behavior of the packing, orientation, conformation, and thermal mobility of MS18 hydrocarbon chain, respectively. The J-aggregate in the pure MS18 system dissociates from 25 to 150 degrees C, and the dissociation temperature at 150 degrees C is higher by 50 degrees C than that in the previous MS18- arachidic acid (C20) binary system. The lower dissociation temperature in the binary system originates from the fact that temperature-dependent structural disorder of cadmium arachidate (CdC20), being phase-separated from MS18, has an influence on the dissociation of J-aggregate. From 160 to 180 degrees C, thermally induced blue-shifted bands, caused by the oligomeric MS18 aggregation, appear at around 520 nm in the pure MS18 system by contraries, regardless of the lack of driving force by the melting phenomenon of CdC20. The temperature at which the 520 nm bands occur is in good agreement with the melting point (160 degrees C) of hydrocarbon chain in MS18 with Cd2+, whereas its chromophore part is clearly observed to melt near 205 degrees C by UV-visible spectra. Therefore, it is suggested that the driving force that induces the 520 nm band in the pure MS18 system arises from the partial melting of hydrocarbon chain in MS18 with Cd2+.

We have investigated the structure of the mixed Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film of a merocyanine dye derivative (MO(18))-deuterated arachidic acid (C(20)-d) binary system and the influence of successive hydrothermal treatment in the liquid phase (HTTL) on the mixed LB film by means of polarized UV-visible and IR absorption spectroscopy. The visible absorption band with in-plane anisotropy at 503 nm before HTTL transforms into an absorption band with in-plane isotropy at 557 nm after HTTL for 16-18 min through a peak maximum near 520 nm after HTTL for 2-12 min. The degree of total MO(18) intramolecular charge transfer for the 503 nm band is the largest among those for all of the bands. Therefore, the 503 nm band is ascribed to the MO(18) H-like aggregation, based on its shape, peak height, and in-plane anisotropy, the subsequent change to two kinds of visible peaks by successive HTTL, and the most degree of MO(18) intramolecular charge transfer among all of the aggregation states. While the MO(18) hydrocarbon chain takes the all-trans conformation before HTTL, its conformation and orientation are most disarranged after HTTL for 2 min. Subsequently, the original conformation and orientation are recovered by degrees with successive HTTL, except after final HTTL for 18 min, when the orientation is again changed. On the other hand, the C(20)-d hydrocarbon chain maintains the all-trans conformation before and after HTTL. The orientation of the C(20)-d hydrocarbon chain after HTTL for 2 min is more ordered than that before HTTL, with the nature of the C(20)-d subcell packing changing from hexagonal to orthorhombic. During successive HTTL from 2 to 18 min, the C(20)-d orientation is gradually disorganized but with the orthorhombic nature remaining constant. Thus, the variations in the conformation and orientation of the MS(18) hydrocarbon chain and in the orientation of the C(20)-d hydrocarbon chain tend to change from ordered and disordered structures and turn to more disordered and ordered ones, respectively, where the former is mainly caused by the priority action of thermal energy and the latter by hydrophobic effect due to the presence of warm water. Consequently, it is suggested that there is a correlation between the degree of structural order for both hydrocarbon chains and the preferential action that takes place during HTTL.