Joint Condensed Matter Physics & Materials Science/CFN Seminar

Self-Assembled Monolayer (SAM) films can provide surface modification that is both uniform and stable. The direct deposition of functionalized self-assembled monolayers is a simple route to surfaces with customized chemical and physical properties. In situ chemical transformations within an already established monolayer provide a versatile and effective way to install functionality that would otherwise be incompatible with the monolayer-anchoring functionality with which it must coexist prior to SAM formation. SAM modification can also fine-tune monolayer reactivity and provide useful approaches to patterned surfaces which can then be used as templates for further, site specific, surface elaboration. The effective implementation of in situ monolayer chemistry requires reactions that do not compromise monolayer integrity as well as an awareness of the constraints imposed by the organization of the monolayer environment. This presentation will describe a number of examples where functional group chemistry within a self-assembled monolayer film is affected by the constraints of monolayer packing and organization. Examples from carboxylic acid chemistry will be described, along with studies of the influence of the monolayer on both electrophilic and nucleophilic processes. Unexpected behavior in both the yield and selectivity of interfacial chemical processes will be described along with an attempt to understand the extent to which monolayer organization can perturb interfacial properties and processes. Functionalized monolayer surfaces will also be shown to provide a tunable template for the subsequent deposition of ceramic films from aqueous solution under near ambient conditions. We will provide examples of finely controlled metal oxide deposition along with an extension of this chemistry to the surface modification of polymers and polymer composites.