| AVS 57th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Surface Science | Tuesday Sessions |
| Session SS2-TuM |
| Session: | Aromatic Molecular Films |
| Presenter: | H. Muzik, University of Bielefeld, Germany |
| Authors: | H. Muzik, University of Bielefeld, Germany L. Kankate, University of Bielefeld, Germany A. Turchanin, University of Bielefeld, Germany A. Gölzhäuser, University of Bielefeld, Germany |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 4´-nitro-1,1´-biphenyl-4-thiol (NBPT) on gold surfaces are extensively used for applications in chemical nanolithography and fabrication of chemically functionalized ultrathin (down to 1 nm) nanomembranes. However, the structure of NBPT SAMs has not yet been investigated in detail. Here we present the first scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) study of NBPT SAMs on the Au(111) surface. NBPT SAMs were prepared both in solvent and by vapor deposition in vacuum. We show by complementary STM and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements that NBPT SAMs exhibits a complex polymorphic phase behavior which strongly correlates with the surface density of NBPT molecules. We have found that at low NBPT coverage, the molecules selectively adsorb outside the bridging regions of the herringbone reconstructed Au(111) surface, whereas at high coverage intermolecular interactions lead to a reorganization of the Au(111) substrate. These findings can be very relevant for the tuning of nanomaterials and devices fabricated by chemical nanolithography from NBPT SAMs and give new insides in the molecular self-assembly of aromatic thiols on gold surfaces.
[1] A. Turchanin, A. Tinazli, M. El-Desawy, H. Großmann, M. Schnietz, H. H. Solak, R. Tampé, and A. Gölzhäuser, Molecular self-assembly, chemical lithography, and biochemical tweezers: A path for the fabrication of functional nanometer-scale protein arrays: Adv. Mater. 20, 471-477 (2008).
[2] L. Kankate, A. Turchanin, and A. Gölzhäuser: On the Release of Hydrogen from the S-H groups in the Formation of Self-Assembled Monolayers of Thiols. Langmuir 25, 10435-10438 (2009).
[3] M. Schnietz, A. Turchanin, C. T. Nottbohm, A. Beyer, H. H. Solak, P. Hinze, T. Weimann, A. Gölzhäuser, Chemically functionalized carbon nanosieves with 1 nm thickness. Small 5, 2651-2655 (2009).