Title: Layer-By-Layer assembled thin films of inorganic nanomaterials: fabrication and photo-electrochemical properties

Authors: Lianzhou Wang, Fengqiu Tang, Kiyoshi Ozawa, G.Q. (Max) Lu

Addresses: ARC Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials, School of Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia. ' ARC Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials, School of Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia. ' Photocatalytic Materials Center, National Institute for Materials Science 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0047, Japan. ' ARC Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials, School of Engineering, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

Abstract: The sequential Layer-By-Layer (LBL) self-assembly technique is one of the most promising methods for thin film fabrication. Initially demonstrated by multilayer assemblies using polyelectrolytes, this elegant concept of precisely controlling composition, thickness and architecture of the thin films has been rapidly extended to a diverse array of functional materials including low-dimensional inorganic nanomaterials. This review first introduces some fundamental aspects of the LBL assembly technique; followed by representative examples of the LBL assembled multilayer thin films containing nanostructured materials as building blocks. The photochemical and electrochemical properties of such fabricated thin films were briefly reviewed in the second part.

Keywords: LBL; layer-by-layer; self-assembly; multilayer thin films; inorganic nanomaterials; photochemical properties; electrochemical properties.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSURFSE.2009.024361

International Journal of Surface Science and Engineering, 2009 Vol.3 No.1/2, pp.44 - 63

Published online: 01 Apr 2009 *

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