Generating a metallic layer anchored below a diacetylene Langmuir monolayer by surface x-ray radiolysis

There is currently a large research activity on the development of sensors based on diacetylene molecules. Such compounds polymerize under UV irradiation in a topochemical way forming usually a blue polymer which turns red under different stimuli. We propose to create a metallic layer anchored below a diacetylene monolayer to produce a metal-organic device with various electronic response. We will use the strategy we developed based on the Langmuir monolayer procedure. The monolayer will be formed by the diacetylene molecule deposited on a subphase containing silver ions. The silver layer is obtained via the reduction of the ions by radiolysis of the water limited below the surface and induced by the evanescent x-rays beam which is simultaneously used to probe the surface transformations. The structure of the film will be probe using GIXD and XRR setup at different surface pressures, subphase pH on pure water and for different silver ions concentrations.