Surface morphology and electronic structure of methyl-terminated alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers and solid water films

• Main Author: Lyagusha, Alina
• Other Authors: Rowntree, Paul
• Language: en
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: self-assembled monolayers; surface analysis; surface morphology; metastable impact electron spectroscopy; water films; electron spectroscopy; alkanethiol; surface structure
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10214/7448

This thesis is an investigation of surface morphology and electronic structure of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and solid water films deposited on these SAMs using metastable impact electron spectroscopy (MIES) and infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS). MIES uses electronically excited slow helium atoms which interact exclusively with the outermost surface layer. The results suggested that in the SAMs containing an odd number of carbon atoms the molecular orbitals localized on the terminal methyl groups are more exposed at the surface compared to those with an even number of carbon atoms. It was also established that solid water films are more uniform on a SAM substrate containing an odd number of carbon atoms. Thermal transformation of amorphous solid water to polycrystalline ice was also observed. MIES suggested that the molecular orbital of water attributed to the lone pair on the oxygen atom became less accessible at the surface upon the transformation.