Structure and electrochemical behavior of aromatic thiol self-assembled monolayers on Au(111)

Abstract

The surface structure and electrochemical behavior of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) formed by aromatic thiols on Au(111) were investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and cyclic voltammetry. Benzenethiol (BT) forms disordered phases on Au(111) which are composed of many bright domains, while benzyl mercaptan (BM), with a methylene unit between the aromatic group and sulfur atom, forms two-dimensional ordered SAMs on Au(111). In addition, two phase-separated domains consisting of disordered and ordered phases were observed in binary SAMs formed from a 1 : 1 mixed ethanol solution of BT and BM. From STM and CV measurements, we found that the blocking efficiency of aromatic thiol SAMs coated on an Au(111) electrode for an electron transfer reaction decreases as the structural order of the SAMs increases. Molecular-scale STM and CV results obtained here will be very useful in designing functional SAMs for further applications, such as the improvement of corrosion passivation of Au(111) on an aromatic thiol-modified Au(111) surface.