SELF-ASSEMBLED MONOLAYERS OF ALKANETHIOLS CONTAINING A POLAR AROMATIC GROUP - EFFECTS OF THE DIPOLE POSITION ON MOLECULAR PACKING, ORIENTATION, AND SURFACE WETTING PROPERTIES

The effect of incorporating aromatic groups into self-assembled alkanethiol monolayers was studied using a variety of techniques including ellipsometry, wetting, reflection-absorption FTIR, surface (contact) potential, and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The quality of the monolayers produced was found to be dependent on both the size of the dipole introduced into the film and the length of the aliphatic chain above the aromatic group.