Structural phase transitions in organized organic thin films built of alkali stearates

Melting of Saturated Fatty Acid Zinc Soaps

The melting of alkyl chains in the saturated fatty acid zinc soaps of different chain lengths, Zn(C(n)H(2n+1)COO)(2); n = 11, 13, 15, and 17, have been investigated by powder X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and vibrational spectroscopy. These compounds have a layer structure with the alkyl chains arranged as tilted bilayers and with all methylene chains adopting a planar, all-trans conformation at room temperature. The saturated fatty acid zinc soaps exhibit a single reversible melting transition with the associated enthalpy change varying linearly with alkyl chain length, but surprisingly, the melting temperature remaining constant. Melting is associated with changes in the conformation of the alkyl chains and in the nature of coordination of the fatty acid to zinc. By monitoring features in the infrared spectra that are characteristic of the global conformation of the alkyl chains, a quantitative relation between conformational disorder and melting is established. It is found that, irrespective of the alkyl chain length, melting occurs when 30% of the chains in the soap are disordered. These results highlight the universal nature of the melting of saturated fatty acid zinc soaps and provide a simple explanation for the observed phenomena.

Substitution controlled molecular orientation and nanostructure in the Langmuir–Blodgett films of a series of amphiphilic naphthylidene-containing Schiff base derivatives

Three amphiphilic Schiff bases containing naphthylidene group, N-octadecyl-2'-hydroxy-naphthalenylideneamine (HNOA-1), N-(4'-octadecyloxy)-2'-hydroxy-naphthalenylideneaniline (HNOA-2), and N-(4'-N-octadecylbenzamide)-2'-hydroxy-naphthalenylideneaniline (HNOA-3), were designed and their interfacial assemblies were investigated. These amphiphiles have different substitution groups in the Schiff base moiety. It was observed that HNOA-1, being in lack of second aromatic ring, formed multilayer films at the air/water interface, while the other two compounds, with another aromatic ring and some hydrophilic groups, can be spread as monolayers on water surface. All of Schiff bases could coordinate with Cu(Ac)2 in situ in the spreading films. Both the spreading films from water and aqueous Cu(Ac)2 subphases were transferred onto solid substrates and their surface morphologies as well as molecular packing modes were investigated by a series of methods such as atomic force microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectra and X-ray diffraction. Depending on the different substitutions, these amphiphiles showed different orientations in the Langmuir-Blodgett films. Particularly, during the process of complex formation at the air/water interface, great conformational change of the alkyl chain was observed for HNOA-2 in comparison with that of other compounds. In addition, nanofiber structures were observed for the Cu(II)-complexed HNOA-1 and HNOA-2 films.

Characterization of TiO2 nanoparticles surface modified with aluminum stearate

This paper uses measurements of adsorption and vibrational spectra (DRIFTS, ATR, and Raman) to characterize TiO2 (rutile) nanoparticles that have been surface treated with aluminum and stearate, "aluminum stearate". From these measurements, we have developed a model of titania particles covered by patches of "alumina". Vibrational spectra, particularly the spectra of the carboxylate headgroups, show that the stearate then adsorbs on both the titania and the alumina. Surprisingly, the distribution of the stearate between alumina and titania is sensitive to the presence of water. As the water content decreases, the relative amounts of stearate on titania, rather than alumina, increase, and this increase is accompanied by a less ordered structuring of the stearate tails, as evidenced by a shift of the C-H stretching bands to higher frequencies and a broadening of the 1296 cm(-1) Raman band. This effect is consistent with earlier observations that the presence of water reduced the bonding of stearate headgroups to the surface of titania. We have also shown that the dispersion in C12-C15 alkyl benzoate of aluminum stearate coated titania is sensitive to the presence of small amounts, approximately 4%, of water. Finally, we have demonstrated that surface stearate, like surface alumina, reduces the rate of phototocatalytic oxidation of 2-propanol. A 7% stearate coating reduces acetone formation by a factor of 4. There is no evidence from these studies that, during the oxidation experiment, 2-propanol displaces stearate from the titania surface.