Covalently attached multilayer self-assemblies of single-walled carbon nanotubols and diazoresins

Layer-by-layer (LBL) multilayer films have been constructed from multiple hydroxyl group directly modified single- walled carbon nanotubes (single-walled carbon nanotubols, SWNTols) and light- sensitive diazoresin (DR). Ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorbance spectra confirm that the alternate assemblies of SWNTols and DR result in uniform film growth. Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR) spectra of the films show that the main driving force for DR/ SWNTol assembly is attributed to hydrogen bond attractions rather than electrostatic interactions. Upon UV irradiation, the hydrogen bonds of the multilayer films transform into covalent bonds, which significantly improves the stability of the DR/SWNTol multilayer films towards etching by polar solvent. Atomic force and scanning electron microscopies (AFM and SEM) indicate high structural homogeneity of the assembled composite films.