Thiol-Yne Adsorbates for Stable, Low-Density, Self-Assembled Monolayers on Gold

We present a novel approach toward carboxylate-terminated, low-density monolayers on gold, which provides exceptional adsorbate stability and conformational freedom of interfacial functional groups. Adsorbates are synthesized through the thiol-yne addition of two thiol-containing head groups to an alkyne-containing tail group. The resulting monolayers have two distinct phases: a highly crystalline head phase adjacent to the gold substrate, and a reduced density tail phase, which is in contact with the environment. The ellipsometric thickness of 27 Å is consistent with the proposed structure, where a densely packed decanedithiol monolayer is capped with an 11 carbon long, second layer at 50% lateral chain density. The Fourier transform infrared peak at 1710 cm^–1 supports the presence of the carbonyl group. Further, the peaks associated with asymmetric and symmetric methylene stretching are shifted toward higher wavenumbers compared to those of well-packed self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), which shows a lower average crystallinity of the thiol-yne monolayers compared to a typical monolayer. Contact angle measurements indicate an intermediate surface energy for the thiol-yne monolayer surface, owing to the contribution of exposed methylene functionality at the surface in addition to the carbonyl terminal group. The conformational freedom at the surface was demonstrated through remodeling the thiol-yne surface under an applied potential. Changes in the receding contact angle in response to an external potential support the capacity for reorientation of the surface presenting groups. Despite the low packing at the solution interface, thiol-yne monolayers are resistant to water and ion transport (<i>R</i>_f ∼ 10⁵), supporting the presence of a densely structured layer at the gold surface. Further, the electrochemical stability of the thiol-yne adsorbates exceeded that of well-packed SAMs, requiring a more reductive potential to desorb the thiol-yne monolayers from the gold surface. The thiol-yne monolayer approach is not limited to carboxylate functionality and is readily adapted for low-density monolayers of varied functionality