1996 Volume 17 Issue 1 Pages 31-37
To investigate the possibility of the control over crystal growth on oriented organic film surfaces, bismuth (Bi) metal was vacuum-deposited on cadmium stearate Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films with surfaces of either hydrophilic head groups or hydrophobic tail groups at room temperature. Interaction in both geometric and chemical senses between organic functional groups and evaporated metal seems critical for its growth. Different growth manner of Bi was observed on different surfaces in the initial stage of deposition ; A very low deposition rate, 0.01 nm/s, resulted in the large crystals grown on the hydrophilic surfaces, while fine particles formed on the hydrophobic surfaces. Time dependence of the average size of fine particles (∝t1/3) indicated high diffusivity of Bi adatoms on the hydrophobic surface, while crystallization of Bi on the hydrophilic surface possibly implied their strong chemical interactions.