DEPOSITION OF UNIFORM FULLERENE FILMS BY LB TECHNIQUE

Deposition of uniform fullerene (C-60) films is carried out using the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique. As an intermediate stage an LB film from a mixed monolayer of C-60 and a specially selected surfactant com pound is deposited. The surfactant compound used forms itself into amo rphous uniform LB films and C-60 molecules distribute homogeneously in this matrix. Another property of the surfactant compound is its solub ility in hexane, in which C-60 does not dissolve. One-component C-60 f ilm is obtained after treatment of the sample with hexane. To achieve this result mixtures of C-60 with several compounds were studied and f inally one of them was selected. Surface pressure-area isotherms were recorded to evaluate the degree of C-60 dissolution in matrix monolaye rs. Deposited LB films were studied by optical microscopy, electron di ffraction and transmission electron microscopy techniques to record ch anges of the structure and morphology under variation of the condition s and selection of the compounds. One-component C-60 monolayers at the air-water interface as well as C-60 films transferred with the horizo ntal lift technique were also investigated for interpretation of the d ata on mixed multilayers. Some features of the structure of the studie d films are discussed.