Mixed alkanethiolate monolayers as substrates for studying the Langmuir film deposition process

Mixed alkanethiol derivatives have been used to produce high quality surfaces suitable for use as substrates for studying the Langmuir film transfer process. The transfer of Langmuir films from the air-water interface to a solid support is strongly dependent on the nature of the substrate, the subphase and on the speed of deposition. While it is possible to control the conditions of the subphase (i.e. pH and temperature), and the speed of deposition in a continuous manner, the ability to continuously vary the substrate contribution has been lacking. Recently we reported how, by using mixed self-assembled monolayers, the surface contribution could be varied continuously. From this work it appeared that there was an abrupt transition in the transfer ratio as the percentage OH in the surface was increased. In this contribution we present the results of further investigations in which the deposition speed and the temperature of the subphase are varied, for specific surface percentage OH concentrations (both within and outside the transition region).