M. Ginzburg et al., Layer-by-layer self-assembly of organic-organometallic polymer electrostatic superlattices using poly(ferrocenylsilanes), LANGMUIR, 16(24), 2000, pp. 9609-9614
Water-soluble poly(ferrocenylsilane) (PFS) and poly(styrenesulfonate) (PSS)
of alternating charge are shown to self-assemble in a layer-by-layer fashi
on on primed Au, Si, and quartz substrates to create the first examples of
organic-organometallic electrostatic superlattices from polymers with ferro
cene units in the backbone. The layer-by-layer assembly of these electrosta
tic superlattices has been monitored through frequency changes with layer d
eposition using a quartz-crystal microbalance (QCM), a regular film thickne
ss increase observed using ellipsometry, and step-wise absorbance increases
observed using ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy. As well, structu
ral information was obtained using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS),
water contact angle measurements, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). These
superlattices are of interest as possible precursors to patterned magnetic
and redox active multilayers.