ENZYME-MEDIATED 2-DIMENSIONAL POLYMERIZATION OF AROMATIC DERIVATIVES ON A LANGMUIR TROUGH

An examination of the assembly and biocatalytic polymerization of mixe d aromatic monomeric systems was undertaken using the Langmuir-Blodget t technique. Pressure-area isotherms of 4-(tetradecyloxy)phenol, 4-(he xadecyloxy)phenol, 4-(hexadecyl)aniline, 4-ethylphenol, pyrrole, anili ne, and phenol in various ratios were determined. Polymerizations on t he Langmuir trough were carried out using the enzymes horseradish pero xidase and laccase. UV-vis spectroscopy revealed that the polymerized monolayers possess extensive electronic conjugation in the polymer bac kbone. Fourier-transformed IR, attenuated total reflection-Fourier-tra nsformed IR, thermal gravimetric analysis, conductivity, and nonlinear optical properties were measured to characterize the monolayers, to d etermine the extent of conjugation, to assess the orientation of the a lkyl chains with respect to the substrate surface for LB films with mu ltilayers, and to assess electrical and optical properties.