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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
In order to investigate the influence of substrate functionalization on the subsequent selfassembly of multilayer films, multilayers composed of alternating hafnium and 1,10-decanediylbis(phosphonic) acid (DBPA) have been grown on three different substrates. Substrates studied include gold wafers functionalized with 4-mercaptobutylphosphonic acid, silicon wafers functionalized using a hafnium oxychloride solution, and silicon wafers coated with an octadecylphosphonate LB-template layer. The nature of these films is probed using ellipsometry and grazing angle x-ray diffraction. These studies indicate that the overall order and the individual layer thickness can vary substantially from sample to sample and depend strongly on the initial surface functionalization prior to multilayer growth.