Synthesis of thiol-capped gold nanoparticle with a flow system using organosilane as a reducing agent

Synthesis of thiol-capped gold nanoparticle is carried out by mixing of a THF solution of HAuCl₄·4H₂O and ⁿC₁₂H₂₅SH with a THF solution of triethylsilane in a flow system that consists of polytetrafluoroethylene tubing. The effect of residence time and reaction temperature on the particle size is examined.     

Surface stress generation during formation of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayer (SAM)

A high resolution curvature interferometer [Wang, J., Shrotriya, P., Kim, K.S., 2006. Surface residual stress measurement using curvature interferometry. Experimental Mechanics 46 (1), 39–46] is utilized to measure surface stress development associated with formation of self-assembled monolayers (SAM) of octadecanethiols on macroscale domains (25 mm × 25 mm). Atomistic simulations are performed to investigate surface stress generation associated with SAM formation. The results of the molecular simulations are incorporated into the multiscale framework to understand the surface stress generation and curvature change observed during experiments at continuum scale.     

Gap states at organic-metal interfaces: A combined spectroscopic and theoretical study

A systematic understanding and controlling of gap states formed at the organic-metal interfaces is a key factor for fabricating functional organic-metal systems, as in case of heterojunctions in semiconductor devices. We report here the characterization of gap states near the Fermi level of metal substrate by metastable atom electron spectroscopy and first-principles density functional calculations. The gap states in organic-metal systems are classified into two types, i.e., chemisorption-induced gap states (CIGSs) and complex-based gap states (CBGSs). CIGSs can be further classified whether the metal wave function tails a short distance into the chemisorbed species with the exponential decay (damping type) or is exposed sufficiently to the chemisorbed species by mixing with the organic orbitals (propagating type). CIGSs observed in alkanethiolate and C₆₀ on Pt(1 1 1) are their typical examples, respectively. As a consequence, alkanethiolate serves as a poor mediator of metal wave function, whereas C₆₀ acts as a good mediator, which is responsible for tunneling mechanism and eventually electric conductivity in the relevant metal-organic-metal junctions. CBGSs are identified in bathocuproine films deposited on K-covered Au, where the K atoms migrate into the film to form an organic-metal complex. The CBGSs are distributed over the multilayer film, in contrast to the case of CIGS. With increasing film thickness, the CBGSs exhibit incommensurate energy shifts with the valence band top of the film, indicating that the Schottky-Mott model breaks down as evaluating charge transport in organic-metal systems.     

Latex piezoelectric immunoassay: Effect of interfacial properties

Latex piezoelectric immunoassay is a technique for detecting agglutination of antibody- or antigen-bearing latex by an immunoreaction using a piezoelectric quartz crystal; the agglutination decreases the oscillation frequency of the crystal. This is advantageous in that immobilization of antibody or antigen on the crystal surface is unnecessary. In this report, different kinds of chemical functional groups were immobilized on the electrode surface, allowing us to consider the effect of interfacial structure on the frequency change. Electrode modifications such as self-assembly of alkanethiol and aminoalkoxysilane monolayers, and polyethylenimine-glutaraldehyde coating as well as plasma treatment were examined. The sensitivity of the system was found to imitate the interfacial properties so that modification of the electrode surface could improve the response. Among the methods examined for this electrode surface modification, the polyethylenimine-glutaraldehyde modification had the advantages of high reproducibility, fast operation and simplicity. It was also suggested that the frequency change originated primarily from the immunoreaction at the interface.     

Oxidation protection of copper surfaces using self-assembled monolayers of octadecanethiol

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanethiols adsorbed onto clean surfaces of face centred cubic (fcc) metals have been studied extensively for their ability to control the chemical functionality of the surface and as a means of preventing the oxidation and corrosion of the substrate metal. However, in many cases it has been found that on reactive substrates such as copper, it is difficult to prepare SAMs without the incorporation of some oxygen into the structure. In this work, self-assembled monolayers of octadecanethiol (ODT) were formed on copper foil substrates using a series of etching treatments to remove the native oxide layer prior to deposition of the ODT coating from a modified solution. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to analyse the SAMs and showed that monolayers with no detectable oxygen content could be produced. The effect of exposing the samples to air at different temperatures was monitored to examine the rate of the oxidation process, which was found to vary strongly with temperature. Samples stored at room temperature were found to oxidise relatively quickly, while those kept in a refrigerator were slower. Storing samples in a freezer dramatically reduced the oxidation of the copper, such that samples kept for 10 weeks still did not show any clear evidence of oxygen incorporation.     

Solid Phase Extraction of Neutral Analytes through Silica Gel Coated with Layers of Au Nanoparticles Self‐Assembled with Alkanethiols

In this study, we used Au nanoparticle (NP)‐coated silica gel as a solid phase extraction sorbent for the preconcentration of neutral analytes (steroid drugs). The sorbent was fabricated using two alkanethiol self‐assembly processes: one to deposit the Au NPs onto a 3‐aminopropyltrimethoxysilane‐modified silica gel and the other to functionalize the surfaces of the Au NPs. A large volume of the steroid solution was passed through the silica gel to facilitate adsorption mediated by hydrophobic interactions between the steroids and the hydrophobic moieties on the silica gel surface. Extraction of the steroids was accomplished by flushing the silica gel with a low‐polarity solvent. In this preliminary study, we found that the particle size of the silica gel and the number of layers of Au NPs coated on the silica gel both affected the preconcentration performance for the steroids. When using six layers of Au NPs coated on 5–20‐μm silica gel, the detection limits for steroids were below 80 ng L^?1; the preconcentration efficiency was over 170‐fold higher than that of the original steroid solution. Our findings provide further evidence that nanotechnology has much to benefit analytical science.     

Pragmatic Studies on Protein-Resistant Self-Assembled Monolayers

Summary. The present study describes new synthetic routes to oligo(ethylene glycol)-terminated alkanethiols (OEG-ATs), starting from α,ω-dibromoalkanes, which are reacted either with OEG or with trityl mercaptan in the first step. In addition to these ether conjugates of OEG and AT, analogous ester and amide conjugates were prepared by established procedures. All thiols were used to form self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on cleaned gold surfaces and these were stored for 1–2 weeks under water at 4°C before the extent of nonspecific protein adsorption was tested with IgG, BSA, and lysozyme at 1 mg cm⁻³ protein concentration in phosphate-buffered saline. Under these practice-oriented testing conditions, SAMs with tri(ethylene glycol) chains (EG ₃) exhibited nonsatisfactory protein resistance, in sharp contrast to EG ₄ or longer OEG chains. The effectiveness of EG ₃ was partially restored when they were linked to a long acyl chain (16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid) instead of 12-mercaptododecane or 11-mercaptoundecane. Furthermore it was found that (i) SAM formation at 20 μM thiol versus 500 μM OEG-AT gave identical results, (ii) gel-filtered proteins were much less adsorbed than the unpurified commercial products, and (iii) the method for gold-precleaning was very critical. In conclusion, this study offers convenient synthetic routes to OEG-AT and helps to choose molecules and procedures for reliable preparation of protein-resitant SAMs with prolonged stability during storage.     

硫醇自组装膜对金电极上吡咯电化学聚合的影响

用电化学聚合法在多种烷基硫醇自组装膜修饰金电极上制备了聚吡咯.通过计时安培法、循环伏安法和交流阻抗技术研究了自组装膜的烷基链长和端基功能团对吡咯聚合过程和性质的影响.当自组装膜较完美时,聚吡咯沉积在自组装膜表面;而当自组装膜有一定缺陷时,吡咯在针孔处成核,然后继续生长并完全覆盖在自组装膜表面.研究结果表明,烷基硫醇的链越短,吡咯聚合越容易;疏水的烷基硫醇自组装膜有利于聚吡咯在电极表面的生长.     

自组装单分子膜的结构及其自组装机理

综述了自组装单分子膜技术近年来取得的一些重要研究成果,重点介绍了自组装单分子膜体系的结构及其自组装机理,并提出了这一领域今后的发展方向及需要解决的重点课题.     

吸附分子间通过底物的作用能的密度泛函理论计算

尝试用密度泛函理论B3LYP方法,计算研究了Ag(111)面上烷烃硫醇自组织单分子层中分子间通过底物的作用能(间接作用能)的大小,揭示了它与单体吸附能绝对值的正比关系,阐明了其物理本质．DFT的计算结果与以前提出的间接作用能的半经验表达式定性一致．