Sp. Weinbach et al., CONTROL OF STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF POLYMORPHIC CRYSTALLINE THIN-FILMSOF AMPHIPHILIC MOLECULES ON LIQUID SURFACES, Science, 264(5165), 1994, pp. 1566-1570
The spontaneous formation and coexistence of crystalline polymorphic t
rilayer domains in amphiphilic films at air-liquid interfaces is demon
strated by grazing incidence synchrotron x-ray diffraction. These poly
morphic crystallites may serve as models for the early stages of cryst
al nucleation and growth, helping to elucidate the manner in which add
itives influence the progress of crystal nucleation, growth, and polym
orphism and suggesting ways of selectively generating and controlling
multilayers on liquid surfaces. Auxiliary molecules have been designed
to selectively inhibit development of the polymorphs, leading primari
ly to a single phase monolayer.