Self-assembled monolayers of aromatic selenolates on noble metal substrates

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) formed from bis(biphenyl-4-yl) diselenide (BBPDSe) on Au(111) and Ag(111) substrates have been characterized by high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy, water contact angle measurements, and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). BBPDSe was found to form contamination-free, densely packed, and well-ordered biphenyl selenolate (BPSe) SAMs on both Au and Ag. Spectroscopic data suggest very similar packing density, orientational order, and molecular inclination in BPSe/Au and BPSe/Ag. STM data give a similar intermolecular spacing of 5.3 +/- 0.4 A on both Au and Ag but exhibit differences in the exact arrangement of the BPSe molecules on these two substrates, with the (2 square root[3] x square root[3])R30 degrees and (square root[3] x square root[3])R30 degrees unit cells on Au and Ag, respectively. There is strong evidence for adsorbate-mediated substrate restructuring in the case of Au, whereas no clear statement on this issue can be made in the case of Ag. The film quality of the BPSe SAMs is superior to their thiol analogues, which is presumably related to a better ability of the selenolates to adjust the surface lattice of the substrate to the most favorable 2D arrangement of the adsorbate molecules. This suggests that aromatic selenolates represent an attractive alternative to the respective thiols.