Molecular adsorption of n-alkyl amines, carboxylic acids, and amides onto well-defined, polar organic surfaces

This paper details the formation of oriented monolayer films by the solution-phase adsorption of n-alkyl-chained adsorbates (CH3(CH2)(n-1)Y) onto the polar surfacer of terminally-substituted self-assembled monolayers (SAMs; Au/S(CH2)(m)X). The polar tail groups (X and Y) of the adsorbate and SAM included amine, carboxylic acid, and amide groups, and the formation of the adsorbed monomolecular films on the SAMs relied on non-covalent interactions between X and Y. Highly organized monomolecular adlayers could be produced on the SAM surface that were as densely packed as the underlying alkanethiolate SAMs comprising the first layer. The quality of the adsorbed monolayers was related to the identities of the tail groups X and Y.