Description of my doctoral research work
Thesis title: Organization of Discotic Mesogenic Amphiphiles at Air-Water and Air-Solid Interfaces.
The thesis contains studies on the formation and characterization of ultra-thin films of some novel ionic discotic liquid-crystalline molecules at the air-water and air-solid interfaces. The discotic liquid-crystalline molecules used were pyridinium tethered with hexaalkoxytriphenylene and imidazolium tethered with hexaalkoxytriphenylene. These molecules were synthesized in our institute (Raman Research Institute). Interestingly, the cationic moiety present in these molecules enabled the study of their interaction with biologically important DNA molecules. Discotic liquid-crystalline molecules exhibit unique molecular electronic properties such as delocalization of electrons and have potential for applications like field-effect transistors, photovoltaic solar cells, light-emitting diodes, sensor devices and biomimetic systems. To study the ultra-thin films of these discotic molecules at air-water interface, we used surface manometry, Brewster angle microscopy, epifluorescence microscopy and reflection microscopy. We have transferred the films from the air-water interface onto solid substrates by Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique. We have characterized these LB films using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). We have used AFM extensively to extract information on nanoscale electrical and mechanical properties of these LB films. We have carried out nanoscale indentations on the LB films.
Following are some of the highlights of our research achievements:
