Don't forget Langmuir–Blodgett films

Abstract

Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films have been investigated, extensively, over the past 70 years. Despite considerable efforts aimed at exploiting their nonlinear optical, piezoelectric, pyroelectric, semiconducting, sensing and barrier properties, problems associated with film quality and stability have hampered their practical development. This feature article highlights one recent advance in the LB area (i.e., the ionic cross-linking of LB films or "gluing"), which has resulted in single bilayer membranes possessing extraordinary quality and stability. The gluing of LB films provides new opportunities for an old technology that has been waning in recent years.

Biomedical Applications of Layer‐by‐Layer Assembly: From Biomimetics to Tissue Engineering

“…In the second half of the 20th century, scientists have been attracted to the design of thin solid films at the molecular level because of their potential for applications in the fields of biology and medicine. Two techniques dominated research in this area: Langmuir-Blodgett deposition [1,2] and self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). [3][4][5] Both Langmuir-Blodgett deposition, invented by Langmuir [6] and Blodgett, [7] and the SAM technique, developed by Nuzzo and Allara, [8] and by Whitesides and co-workers, [9] have shown remarkable capability for the immobilization of proteins and cells and subsequent application in biocatalysis, drug delivery, and tissue engineering.…”

Exploring the Effect of Ligand Structural Isomerism in Langmuir–Blodgett Films of Chiral Luminescent EuIII Self‐Assemblies

“…However, often the thickness of such films (on a molecular level) is tricky to control. In contrast, the use of Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) film formation advantageously allows one to form monolayers in a more controllable manner –. This technique allows for the generation of mono‐ and multilayers of self‐assembled materials that can possess a range of properties.…”

Splaying hyperthin polyelectrolyte multilayers to increase their gas permeability

“…Examples of some mixtures that are of current interest include: H 2 -N 2 , H 2 -CO 2 , CO 2 -N 2 , O 2 -N 2 , H 2 -CH 4 , H 2 -CO and C 2 H 4 -C 2 H 6 1-3 although selective adsorption and cryogenic distillation methods can be used to separate such gases, both techniques are expensive in terms of their energy and capital requirements. Examples of some mixtures that are of current interest include: H 2 -N 2 , H 2 -CO 2 , CO 2 -N 2 , O 2 -N 2 , H 2 -CH 4 , H 2 -CO and C 2 H 4 -C 2 H 6 1-3 although selective adsorption and cryogenic distillation methods can be used to separate such gases, both techniques are expensive in terms of their energy and capital requirements.…”

“…Examples of some mixtures that are of current interest include: H 2 -N 2 , H 2 -CO 2 , CO 2 -N 2 , O 2 -N 2 , H 2 -CH 4 , H 2 -CO and C 2 H 4 -C 2 H 6 1-3 although selective adsorption and cryogenic distillation methods can be used to separate such gases, both techniques are expensive in terms of their energy and capital requirements. 6,7 Our motivation for this work stems from the fact that the flux of a permeant per unit area, J, is inversely proportional to a membrane's thickness, l. Thus, hyperthinness offers the prospect of exceptionally high performance, provided that permeation selectivity is not compromised due to the formation of defects. Here, the main challenge is to create membrane materials that exhibit a maximum in flux and a maximum in permeation selectivity.…”