THE CHEMISTRY OF SELF-ASSEMBLED LONG-CHAIN ALKANETHIOL MONOLAYERS ON GOLD

The aggregation of organic compounds at electrode surfaces has long been recognized. Structurally well-defined organic monolayers on solid surfaces allow experimenters to simplify and model a large variety of interfacial phenomena that are often difficult to study at interfaces due to heterogeneous or poorly defined structure. Recent research reports indicate that the building of organic compound structures on electrode surfaces is quickly emerging as a promising new methodology for surface modification with the potential to attain very well-defined morphologies. Three main approaches are under evaluation: (1) Langmuir-Blodgett transfer of a organic compound monolayer from the air/solution interface to the electrode/solution interface. (2) Covalent attachment (or chemisorption) of the amphiphilic monomers to the electrode surface. So far, only examples involving electroinactive amphiphilies have been reported, (3) Self-assembly of organic molecules at electrode surfaces contacting dilute organic compounds solutions. This approach, which is probably the simplest one, has been investigated widely in recent years. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.