Langmuir-Blodgett thin film for chloroform detection

Calix[4]resorcinarene (C11TEA) molecules could be deposited as an LB film by the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique onto suitable substrates. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and UV-vis spectroscopy were employed for the characterization of these LB films. A high quality and uniform Langmuir monolayer from the water surface can be transferred onto a glass or gold coated substrates with a transfer ratio of over 95%. Thickness and refractive index values of the resultant LB films were measured using surface plasmon resonance with a value of 1.04 nm per layer and 1.4 respectively. For the sensing application towards chloroform, this LB film yields a fast and almost fully reversible response to chloroform in few seconds.