Study of monolayer polymerization using nonlinear optics

Abstract
Optical second harmonic generation has been used to study the polymerization of a monolayer of vinyl stearate or octadecyl methacrylate spread at the air/water interface. Rapid polymerization occurred when monolayers were irradiated with ultraviolet light, while some slower polymerization occurred when certain redox initiators were added to the water subphase. Information regarding polymerization kinetics and the orientation of molecules at the interface were also obtained using this method.