Self-assembled silane monolayers: an efficient step-by-step recipe for high-quality, low energy surfaces

Organosilane self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are commonly used for modifying a wide range of substrates. Depending on the end group, highly hydrophobic or hydrophilic surfaces can be achieved. Silanization bases on the adsorption, self-assembly and covalent binding of silane molecules onto surfaces and results in a densely packed, SAM. Following wet chemical routines, the quality of the monolayer is often variable and, therefore, unsatisfactory. The process of self-assembly is not only affected by the chemicals involved and their purity but is also extremely sensitive to ambient parameters such as humidity or temperature and to contaminants. Here, a reliable and efficient wet-chemical recipe is presented for the preparation of ultra-smooth, highly ordered alkyl-terminated silane SAMs on Si wafers. The resulting surfaces are characterized by means of atomic force microscopy, X-ray reflectometry and contact angle measurements. Copyright (c) 2015John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.