Entropic depletion effect on supermolecular assembly: control of geometry of adsorbed molecules in coatings

We describe an experimental investigation of the control of optimal geometric arrangements for adsorbed thin films by entropic depletion interactions between an adsorbent and the metal wall. Adsorbed ultra-thin layers on metals were investigated by surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy. Bipyridine and two engineering polymers were found to form ordered structures which covered metal surfaces on adding low molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol) to their solutions in ethanol. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.