Polymeric films from the alternating chemisorption of poly(vinylbenzylchloride) and a 4′-hydroxystilbazole dye

A simple strategy was developed based on the alternating chemisorption of a reactive polymer and a dye bearing two different complementary reactive groups, to obtain stable thin dye-functionalized polymeric films. These films were grown on a precoating made by electrostatic self-assembly. Film growth is linear according to UV–VIS spectroscopy and ellipsometry. Films assembled from 10 deposition cycles show a thickness of 28 nm with a roughness of 4.5 nm (rms) as measured by small angle X-ray reflectivity, this means they are molecularly thin. The chromophores seem to realign upon adding a new layer of polymer as probed with UV–VIS spectroscopy.