title: Preparation of highly stable organic steps with a fullerene-based molecule.
abstract: We report the formation of highly stable Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) organic steps made with a hexa-adduct fullerene-based amphiphile. This amphiphile forms films of excellent quality, with a very low roughness, that are structurally stable: X-ray reflectivity spectra recorded on fresh and 12-month-old samples are undiscernible. Such a behavior contrasts with that of more traditional amphiphiles, which are unfortunately well-known for their instability in time. The stability of the films stems, among others, from the spheroidal shape of the constitutive molecules. These experiments show that it is possible to circumvent the major drawback of LB films and to prepare materials more suited for applications. We show that the LB film prepared with this fullerene derivative can successfully be used as thickness gauges for atomic force microscopy or light microscopy studies.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Organische Chemie, Lehrstuhl II, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Henkestrasse 42, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burghardt
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hirsch
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Medard
authors.forename: Refahi Abou
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Kachfhe
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ausseré
authors.forename: Marie-Pierre
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Valignat
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gallani