The cis-bis(decanoate)tin phthalocyanine/DPPC film at the air/water interface

Films made of cis-bis-decanoate-tin(IV) phthalocyanine (PcSn10) and racemic dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) are studied with compression isotherms and Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) at the air/water interface. Films enriched in PcSn10 present phase separation elliptical-shaped domains. These domains present optical anisotropy and molecular order. They are enriched in PcSn10, and the film outside these domains is enriched in DPPC, as shown in by high-angle annular dark-field transmission electron microscopy on Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) transferred films. Film collapse area and atomic force microscopy images of LB transferred films on mica indicate that the films are actually multilayers. A computational survey was performed to determine how the PcSn10 molecules prefer to self-assemble, in films basically made of PcSn10. The relative energetic stability for several dimeric assemblies was obtained, and a crystal model of the film was developed through packing and repeating the PcSn10 molecules, along the crystallographic directions of the unit cell. Our results contribute to understanding the strong interaction between PcSn10 and DPPC at the air/water interface, where even small quantities of DPPC (~1-2%) can modify the film in an important way.