NOVEL ALTERNATE LAYER LB FILM POLYMER ELECTROLYTE SYSTEMS

Over the last few years polymer electrolytes have generated much inter est as potential components in devices such as batteries and smart win dows. Some new systems synthesized recently have proven to be excellen t candidates for the preparation of thin films, especially Langmuir-Bl odgett films. This technique enables the production of single or multi molecular layers of precisely known thickness. The work in this paper concentrates on the investigation of polyether-alkyl bilayer structure s and other components utilising the alternate Langmuir-Blodgett techn ique. We have demonstrated the viability of producing bilayer structur es 19 molecular layers (approximately 45 nm) thick. We have also shown that ions can be taken up from the subphase, with conductivity normal to the layer planes being extremely low in contrast to the higher val ues obtained using bulk Samples. Alkyl chains bearing functional group s are readily blended into the alkyl layers leading to the possibility of creating mixed-function materials. The conductivities of these mat erials and their blends are discussed. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.