Energy dispersive X-ray reflectivity applied to the study of thermal stability of self-assembled organic multilayers: Results on phosphonic acids

► The temperature evolution of self-assembled organic multilayers is studied by energy dispersive X-ray reflectivity (EDR). ► Octadecylphosphonic acid multilayers present bilayer periodicities of 50 Å (straight bilayer) and 34 Å (tilted bilayer). ► Thermal stability studies show that the tilted bilayer configuration is more stable than the straight arrangement. ► A gradual switching from 50 Å to 34 Å configuration is observed for temperatures above 45 °C. ► The energy difference between both configurations, still not quantified for this system, is evaluated as 0.99 meV/molecule.