Self-assembly of short and long-chain n-alkyl thiols onto gold surfaces: A real-time study using surface plasmon resonance techniques

Gold surfaces coated with monolayers of alkyl thiols are significant in the field of biosensors and chromatography. There is a general concern about the quality of coatings in terms of surface density and voids. The self-assembly of the short-chain hexane (C6) thiol and long-chain dodecane (C12) and hexadecane (C16) thiols to polycrystalline gold surfaces has been investigated in situ and in real time using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy and surface plasmon microscopy (SPM). The self-assembly was followed based on observed changes in reflectivity at a fixed angle of incidence as a function of time. Our results indicate that the data for hexane, dodecane, and hexadecane thiol adsorption to gold surfaces were best fit by a two-step process rather than a one-step process. The mechanism may involve fast adsorption to the surface to give 80% (C12, C16) or 50% (C6) coverage followed by a slow (100-fold slower) "rearrangement" of the adsorbed thiol. SPM shows these surfaces to be smooth and homogenous at a 4 μm scale. An understanding of the process of rearrangement could lead to control of the quality of coatings for analytical applications. Key words: surface plasmon, alkyl thiols, gold, monolayer, kinetics, ellipsometry, microscopy.