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Olefin-Bridged Bidentate Adsorbates for Generating Self-Assembled Monolayers on Gold
Siwakorn Sakunkaewkasem1, Mario A Gonzalez1, Maria D Marquez1
1Department of Chemistry and the Texas Center for Superconductivity, University of Houston, 4800 Calhoun Road, Houston, Texas 77204-5003, United States.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|August 18, 2020
Summary
Custom olefin-bridged adsorbates form self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold with properties similar to traditional n-alkanethiols. This new molecular architecture enables the creation of novel interfaces for advanced applications.
Area of Science:
- Surface Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are crucial for surface functionalization.
- Traditional SAMs are often formed from n-alkanethiols.
- Developing new molecular architectures for SAMs is essential for advanced interface design.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize novel olefin-bridged bidentate adsorbates.
- To investigate the structural and interfacial properties of SAMs formed from these adsorbates.
- To compare the performance of olefin-bridged SAMs with traditional n-alkanethiol SAMs.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of olefin-bridged adsorbates (OBC) with varying chain lengths.
- Formation of SAMs on gold substrates.
- Characterization using ellipsometry, XPS, PM-IRRAS, and contact angle measurements.
Main Results:
- OBC SAMs exhibited similar thicknesses and conformational ordering to n-alkanethiol SAMs.
- The shortest chain OBC (OBC15SH) showed low coverage and liquid-like structure.
- OBC SAMs did not display odd-even effects, unlike n-alkanethiols.
- Contact angles were comparable, except for OBC15SH which showed reduced hydrophobicity.
Conclusions:
- The olefin-bridged dithiol molecular architecture is a robust platform for creating SAMs.
- These adsorbates offer a versatile route to synthesize molecules with distinct tailgroups for complex interfaces.
- The OBC SAMs present a promising alternative to n-alkanethiols for specific surface engineering applications.
