Surface characterization of the interaction of Cu(II) with carboxylic acid and alcohol terminated SAMs

CELESTE MAGALLANES; GRACIELA A. GONZÁLEZ; LUCILA P. MENDEZ DE LEO

Simposio; Exploring the frontiers of chemistry: challenges for the 21st century (symposium).; 2019

Self-assembly of thiols on gold is a method that provides a convenient and simple way to create a thin and very ordered molecular film with adapted chemical and electrical properties.Heavy metal ions are common pollutants in water and can cause severe health damage. They are not biodegradable and can be bioaccumulated.The affinity of the copper (II) ion to SAMs on bifunctional thiol on gold was studied.Thiols chosen exposed hydroxyl and carboxylic acid groups. PM-MIRRAS show that Copper binds to the surface via the extreme group and does not intercalate into the alkyl chain. XPS experiments show that copper binds both to alcohol and carboxylic acid terminated SAMs, and in similar amount.Electrochemical results show that for long chain thiols, no electrochemical reduction is possible because of blockage of the electron transfer by the alkyl chain, confirming the expected closed packed, crystal-like structure of these SAMs.