Layer-by-layer assembly of nanocomposite films with thickness up to hundreds of nanometers

Polyelectrolyte/polyelectrolyte, organic molecule/colloidal CdS and polyelectrolyte/MWCNT films were fabricated via the layer-by-layer assembling technique. The assembled films were characterized by UV-vis spectrophotometer, X-ray diffractometry, nano profilometer and scanning electron microscopy. The results demonstrate that the layer-by-layer assembling technique can be used to make the nanoscaled films from polyelectrolytes and thicker composite films from suitable precursor materials. Both organic molecule/colloidal CdS films and PEI/MWCNT films with thickness of hundreds of nanometers were obtained. For the organic molecule/colloidal CdS films, a reasonable explanation for the result is that both the organic molecules and the CdS particles aggregate in the films. For the PEI/MWCNT films, obviously, it is the MWCNT that makes the great contribution to the film thickness.