Displacement currents from Langmuir layers and thermally stimulated currents from Langmuir-Blodgett films of fatty acids with various hydrocarbon chain lengths

Displacement currents generated during the compression and decompression of monolayers of fatty acids with various hydrocarbon chain lengths at the air/water interface were investigated. The currents varied with the change of the phase of monolayers. Except myristic acid the variation of currents during the expansion was different from that during the compression. The results were explained in terms of cohesion force between the hydrocarbon chains. Thermally stimulated currents in the LB films of stearic acid multilayers were studied. Three current peaks were found in the temperature region above 0°C, which correspond to the pre-melting, melting of LB layers and the motion of excess charges