New dialkyldithiophosphinic acid self-assembled monolayers (SAMs): Influence of gold substrate morphology on adsorbate binding and SAM structure

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-16-2011

Publication Title

Langmuir

Volume

27

Issue

16

First Page

10019

Last Page

10026

Abstract

We report the fabrication and characterization of new self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) formed from dihexadecyldithiophosphinic acid [(C 16)2DTPA] molecules on gold substrates. In these SAMs, the ability of the (C16)2DTPA headgroup to chelate to the gold surface depends on the morphology of the gold substrate. Gold substrates fabricated by electron-beam evaporation (As-Dep gold) consist of ∼50-nm grains separated by deep grain boundaries (∼10 nm). These grain boundaries inhibit the chelation of (C16)2DTPA adsorbates to the surface, producing SAMs in which there is a mixture of monodentate and bidentate adsorbates. In contrast, gold substrates produced by template stripping (TS gold) consist of larger grains (∼200-500 nm) with shallower grain boundaries (<2 nm). On these substrates, the low density of shallow grain boundaries allows (C16)2DTPA molecules to chelate to the surface, producing SAMs in which all molecules are bidentate. The content of bidentate adsorbates in (C16)2DTPA SAMs formed on As-Dep and TS gold substrates strongly affects the SAM properties: Alkyl chain organization, wettability, frictional response, barrier properties, thickness, and thermal stability all depend on whether a SAM has been formed on As-Dep or TS gold. This study demonstrates that substrate morphology has an important influence on the structure of SAMs formed from these chelating adsorbates. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

DOI

10.1021/la202007q

ISSN

07437463

E-ISSN

15205827

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