Growth of Layered Copper-Alkanethiolate Frameworks from Thin Anodic Copper Oxide Films

ARISNABARRETA, NICOLAS; P. PAREDES OLIVERA; COMETTO, FERNANDO P.; E. M. PATRITO

JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B - (Print)

AMER CHEMICAL SOC

Lugar: Washington; Año: 2018

1520-6106

n this work we show that homogeneously mixed self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) ofmercaptoalkanoic acids of different chain lengths can be used to build up a pH-sensitivesupramolecular switch. The acids with short and long alkyl chains interact via the stronghydrogen bond between carboxylic acid groups. The pH acts as a trigger by breaking or restoring the hydrogen bond interaction in basic or acidic solutions, respectively. The corresponding changes in the monolayer structure were determined by ellipsometry, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and contact angle measurements. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were performed to elucidate the structures of interacting molecules compatible with the surface coverage obtained from electrochemical reductive desorption experiments. The simplicity of the preparation procedure assures a high reproducibility whereas the stability of the homogeneous mixed SAM guarantees the reversibility of the switching process.