Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- 1 Microscopy of soft materials
- 2 Computational methods to study jammed systems
- 3 Soft random solids: particulate gels, compressed emulsions, and hybrid materials
- 4 Langmuir monolayers
- 5 Computer modeling of granular rheology
- 6 Rheological and microrheological measurements of soft condensed matter
- 7 Particle-based measurement techniques for soft matter
- 8 Cellular automata models of granular flow
- 9 Photoelastic materials
- 10 Image acquisition and analysis in soft condensed matter
- 11 Structure and patterns in bacterial colonies
- Index
- References
4 - Langmuir monolayers
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 July 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- 1 Microscopy of soft materials
- 2 Computational methods to study jammed systems
- 3 Soft random solids: particulate gels, compressed emulsions, and hybrid materials
- 4 Langmuir monolayers
- 5 Computer modeling of granular rheology
- 6 Rheological and microrheological measurements of soft condensed matter
- 7 Particle-based measurement techniques for soft matter
- 8 Cellular automata models of granular flow
- 9 Photoelastic materials
- 10 Image acquisition and analysis in soft condensed matter
- 11 Structure and patterns in bacterial colonies
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
Langmuir monolayers have proven themselves to be a powerful experimental system for the study of a range of issues in soft condensed matter [1–4]. Essentially, Langmuir monolayers are a single layer of insoluble molecules at the air–water interface. As such, they form an almost ideal two-dimensional system. This offers the opportunity to study fundamental questions in the phase behavior and material properties of two-dimensional systems. Secondly, they are readily transferred from the surface to a solid substrate. This has been the motivation for studying these systems for a range of technological applications. Finally, they are a natural system for the study of biological questions given that much of biology relies on processes at interfaces, such as cellular membranes and membranes of cellular components.
The experimental techniques associated with Langmuir monolayers can loosely be divided into two classes: formation of the monolayer and characterization of the monolayer. In this chapter, we will briefly review important issues in the formation of Langmuir monolayers. The focus will be mostly on the general concepts and issues, with some specific recipes given for illustrative purposes. However, it should be recognized that many groups specializing in Langmuir monolayers have refined and developed specific methods that are optimized for their system. So, some care needs to be taken in applying any given specific recipe. In the area of characterization, we will briefly review standard surface pressure characterization and provide a survey of commercial tools, including x-ray and neutron scattering techniques.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010