Photolysis of Langmuir-Blodgett films containing lead, silver, and copper behenates

The kinetics of the UV photolysis of Langmuir-Blodgett films containing lead, silver, and copper behenates was studied by IR spectroscopy and ellipsometry. The kinetic curves of the topochemical reactions show a sigmoidal shape corresponding to a fast nucleation, with the rate constants of the photolysis of Pb, Ag, and Cu behenates being 9.3 x 10(-6), 1.7 x 10(-6), and 6.6 x 10(-7) s(-2), respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry show the formation of metallic lead and silver. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to analyze the chemical composition of initial layers of lead and copper behenates. The ellipsometric data obtained suggest that the clusters formed in the films exhibit a multilayer arrangement.