Anion-capped benzodithia-18-crown-6 styryl dye monolayers

The anion-capped amphiphilic benzodithia-18-crown-6 styryl dye forms relatively stable insoluble monolayers on distilled water (collapse pressure is 25.5 mN m−1) and aqueous solutions containing alkali (25.3–26.4 mN m−1) and heavy metals (49.0 mN m−1 for Ag+). Two types of the dye monolayer structures (depending on alkali metal or heavy metal cations present in the aqueous subphase) have been discriminated from surface pressure–molecular area and surface potential–molecular area isotherms. The ionoselective and photosensitive properties of the amphiphilic dye in monolayers have been studied in the presence of K+, Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+ or Ag+ cations in the aqueous subphase.