Features of formation, structure and properties of Langmuir–Blodgett films of poly(vinyl carbаzole) with inorganic nanoparticles

A technique for the forming of thin-film nanostructured coatings based on poly(vinyl carbazole) (PVCz) with silicon dioxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles using the Langmuir−Blodgett (LB) method has been developed. Based on the analysis of the PVCz monolayer compression isotherm and atomic force microscopy data on the structural and morphological characteristics of LB films formed by horizontal deposition on the surface of hydrophilized silicon substrates at different values of surface pressure (π), it has been established that the densest PVCz-based coatings are formed at π = 15 mN/m. The optimal content of nanoparticles (per 1 mol of polymer) in suspensions for obtaining uniform nanostructured coatings is up to 24.44 ‧ 103 mol (for SiO2) and up to 4.53 ‧ 103 mol (for ZnO). The effect of the introduction of nanoparticles on the structure, wettability and local mechanical characteristics of the formed composite coatings is described. Based on the calculated values of the compression modulus of PVCz, PVCz–SiO2, PVCz–ZnO monolayers and a set of experimental data obtained during the work, it is shown that the compression modulus of polymer and nanocomposite LB monolayers can be used as a quantitative criterion for assessing the density of the formed coatings.