Electromechanical properties of anisotrope ultrathin layers of polyglutamates

Thomas Jaworek; Gunnar Glasser; R. H. Wieringa; A. J. Schouten; Gerhard Wegner; Dieter Neher

doi:10.1117/12.328581

29 October 1998 Electromechanical properties of anisotrope ultrathin layers of polyglutamates

Thomas Jaworek, Gunnar Glasser, R. H. Wieringa, A. J. Schouten, Gerhard Wegner, Dieter Neher

Proceedings Volume 3474, Second-Order Organic Nonlinear Optics; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.328581
Event: SPIE's International Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, 1998, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

The electromechanical properties of ultrathin films of polyglutamates with either a preferential polar upright orientation of the helical chains or an orientation parallel to the substrate plane are compared. The electric field- induced change in film thickness as determined by an electromechanical interferometer is used to measure of the degree of polar order and the mechanical compliance. Following the approach by Whitesell and Chang monomolecular films of 15 nanometer thickness of the helical polypeptide poly((gamma) -benzyl-L-glutamate) (PBLG) were grown directly from a flat aluminum surface. The measured PBLG film polarization was found to be comparable to that of conventional ferroelectric materials. This result demonstrates that the polymerization starting from the surface forces the helical chains into a polar arrangement. A large mechanical plate modulus of the film of approximately 35 GPa as determined by electrostriction agreed with the theoretical prediction for a single PBLG molecule along the chain axis.In contrast to this, Langmuir- Blodgett layers of poly((gamma) -octadecyl-co-methyl-L- glutamate)s, bearing long flexible side chains, exhibited only negligible piezoelectric activities, as the helices are oriented parallel to the substrate surface.In this case the mechanical properties were almost entirely determined by the structure and packing of the flexible side chains.

Citation Download Citation

Thomas Jaworek, Gunnar Glasser, R. H. Wieringa, A. J. Schouten, Gerhard Wegner, and Dieter Neher "Electromechanical properties of anisotrope ultrathin layers of polyglutamates", Proc. SPIE 3474, Second-Order Organic Nonlinear Optics, (29 October 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.328581

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