Atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigation of Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of sugar cane bagasse lignin

The morphological features of Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of pure lignin e xtracted from sugar cane bagasse and composites of lignin and cadmium stear ate have been investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results ind icated that despite the non-amphiphilic nature of lignin and associated rel atively poor stability and transferability of the lignin monolayer, the sur face of the film is smooth at the micron level and comparable to that of LB films from typical amphiphilic compounds. Distinct domain structures from lignin and cadmium stearate could be visualized in the composite LB film ev en in one monolayer thick LB films. The mean surface roughness increases wi th increasing numbers of layers.