Direct visualization of defect structures contained within self-assembled organomercaptan monolayers: Combined use of electrochemistry and scanning tunneling microscopy. Technical report

Technical Report · Fri Mar 19 00:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:6389940

Sun, L; Crooks, R M

Adventitious defects within self-assembled monolayers of 1-octadecanethiol confined to Au substrate have been studied by a new method which takes advantage of the high spatial resolution of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and the molecular specificity of electrochemistry. The method permits direct visualization of the defect density and provides information about the chemical and structural nature of the defects. CN- was used to electrochemically etch Au from surface regions near defects. This leads to the formation of triangular etch pits, which exhibit a uniform in-plane orientation. A point-defect model is proposed to explain the orientation of the triangular pits. The model also predicts that the organomercaptan molecules occupy particular three-fold hollow sites.

• Research Organization: New Mexico Univ., Albuquerque, NM (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
• OSTI ID: 6389940
• Report Number(s): AD-A-263031/7/XAB; TR-6; CNN: N00014-91-J-1991
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
POINT DEFECTS
STRUCTURAL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
THIOLS
ELECTROCHEMISTRY
MICROSCOPY
CYANIDES
ETCHING
GOLD
HYDROCARBONS
IMAGE PROCESSING
MOLECULAR MODELS
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
SPATIAL RESOLUTION
SUBSTRATES
THIN FILMS
CHEMISTRY
CRYSTAL DEFECTS
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
DISTRIBUTION
ELEMENTS
FILMS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
METALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC SULFUR COMPOUNDS
PROCESSING
RESOLUTION
SURFACE FINISHING
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
400201* - Chemical & Physicochemical Properties
360602 - Other Materials- Structure & Phase Studies