X-ray techniques for probing self-assembled monolayer structures

We investigated the feasibility of using X-rays to study self-assembled monolayers on inorganic surfaces. Variable-temperature X-ray powder diffraction measurements of metal alkylphosphonate salts measured the contraction and expansion of planar inorganic layers as the material passed through a series of phase transitions when heated and cooled. Small-angle X-ray scattering measurements of alkanethiolate-capped gold nanoclusters allowed the determination of the average nanocluster size and the average distance between nanoclusters. These techniques have been demonstrated to contribute useful information which, when combined with results from other probes, lead to a detailed model of the materials' structures and properties