2-DIMENSIONALLY ORIENTED ORGANIC-MOLECULES AS A SUBSTRATE FOR VAPOR GROWTH OF ZINC THIN-FILMS

Zinc metal was vacuum deposited at room temperature onto cadmium stear ate Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films with surfaces of either hydrophilic h ead groups or hydrophobic tail groups. Different growth modes on diffe rent surfaces of the LB films were observed with an atomic force micro scope (AFM). Fine Zn particles deposited onto the hydrophobic surface were uniform and similar in shape irrespective of the deposition rate. However, on the hydrophilic surface, triangular and/or quasi-hexagona l Zn crystals were observed when the deposition rate was very low. Che mical interaction between organic functional groups and deposited meta l seems critical for the manner of growth. The possibility of control of the architecture over inorganic crystallization using two-dimension ally oriented organic surfaces is proposed.