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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Covalent Attachment of Single Molecules for AFM-based Force Spectroscopy
Published on: March 16, 2020
Spontaneous attachment of amines to carbon and metallic surfaces
Iluminada Gallardo1, Jean Pinson, Neus Vilà
1Departament de Quimica, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, España. iluminada.gallardo@uab.es
Abstract:
Primary alkylamines attach spontaneously from acetonitrile (ACN) solutions onto glassy carbon and metallic surfaces (Au, Pt, Cu, and Fe). The surface concentration of the organic layer measured from the integration of cyclic voltammograms appears close to or lower than that of a compact monolayer. The rate of the attachment depends on the concentration of the primary amino compound; it reaches a maximum after 3 h of immersion for the most concentrated solutions (20 mM). The modified surfaces have been characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and infrared spectroscopy (ATR). The possible reaction mechanisms are discussed.
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