Formation and structure of fine multi-particle layered organo-modified zirconium dioxides fabricated by Langmuir–Blodgett technique

Formation and structure of multilayered organization of organo-modified zirconium dioxide are investigated by surface pressure–area (π–A) isotherms, out-of-plane and in-plane X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). In this study, solubilization technology of inorganic fine particles into general solvent has proposed and formation technology of highly ordered single-particle layer has also established by using that inorganic solution as “spreading solution” of the interfacial film. The surface modification of zirconia particles is performed using several long-chain carboxylic acids of different lengths. Accordingly, it is easily achieve a regular arrangement of ZrO2 particles to overcome the relatively weak van der Waals interactions between the inorganic materials. A Langmuir monolayer of these particles is extremely condensed. A multi-particle layered structure is constructed by the Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) technique. The out-of-plane XRD measurement of multilayered organization of stearate-modified ZrO2 particles confirms sharp peaks at 59 Å. AFM images on a mesoscopic scale of this single-particle layer of stearate-modified ZrO2 show the aggregate of particles with 50 nm diameters. However, fine particles with ∼5 nm diameter are confirmed from high-resolution AFM observations in the case of single-particle layers transferred at low surface pressure. That is to say, a regular periodic structure along the c-axis and a hierarchical aggregated particle form are fabricated by Langmuir and LB techniques.