title: Covalent molecular assembly: construction of ultrathin multilayer films by a two-dimensional fabrication method.
abstract: A two-dimensional fabrication method was employed to assemble ultrathin multilayer films with specific three-dimensional structures by making use of interlayer and intralayer covalent bonding. The films were assembled in a layer-wise fashion on a silicon surface using bi- and multi-functional molecules as building blocks and strengthened by lateral cross-linking. The fabrication process could be controlled at the sub-nano-scale with the roughness of the surface after deposition of each layer within 0.2 nm. The film showed better resistance to harsh environments than randomly cross-linked or linearly linked films of comparable thickness. The combination of covalent LbL assembly and lateral cross-linking has significant potential as a method of fabrication for assembling nano-structures for a variety of applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore. Electronic address: g0701276@nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Ruitao
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore. Electronic address: srinivasan.mp@nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Srinivasan
mesh_terms: D015394:Molecular Structure; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000737:chemistry*; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D009930:Organic Chemicals; D012825:Silicon