info:eu-repo/semantics/article
New insight into the electrochemical desorption of alkanethiol SAMs on gold
Fecha
2012-09Registro en:
Pensa, Evangelina Laura; Vericat, Carolina; Grumelli, Doris Elda; Salvarezza, Roberto Carlos; Park, Sung Hyun; et al.; New insight into the electrochemical desorption of alkanethiol SAMs on gold; Royal Society of Chemistry; Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics; 14; 35; 9-2012; 12355-12367
1463-9076
CONICET Digital
CONICET
Autor
Pensa, Evangelina Laura
Vericat, Carolina
Grumelli, Doris Elda
Salvarezza, Roberto Carlos
Park, Sung Hyun
Longo, Gabriel Sebastian
Szleifer, Igal
Méndez de Leo, Lucila Paula
Resumen
A combination of Polarization Modulation Infrared Reflection Absorption Spectroscopy (PMIRRAS) under electrochemical control, Electrochemical Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (ECSTM) and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations has been used to shed light on the reductive desorption process of dodecanethiol (C12) and octadecanethiol (C18) SAMs on gold in aqueous electrolytes. Experimental PMIRRAS, ECSTM and MD simulations data for C12 desorption are consistent with formation of randomly distributed micellar aggregates stabilized by Na + ions, coexisting with a lying-down phase of molecules. The analysis of pit and Au island coverage before and after desorption is consistent with the thiolate-Au adatoms models. On the other hand, PMIRRAS and MD data for C18 indicate that the desorbed alkanethiolates adopt a Na+ ion-stabilized bilayer of interdigitated alkanethiolates, with no evidence of lying down molecules. MD simulations also show that both the degree of order and tilt angle of the desorbed alkanethiolates change with the surface charge on the metal, going from bilayers to micelles. These results demonstrate the complexity of the alkanethiol desorption in the presence of water and the fact that chain length and counterions play a key role in a complex structure. © This journal is the Owner Societies 2012.