Issue 19, 2017

Nanocylindrical confinement imparts highest structural order in molecular self-assembly of organophosphonates on aluminum oxide

Abstract

We report the impact of geometrical constraint on intramolecular interactions in self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkylphosphonates grown on anodically oxidized aluminum (AAO). Molecular order in these films was determined by sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy, a more sensitive measure of order than infrared absorption spectroscopy. Using SFG we show that films grown on AAO are, within detection limits, nearly perfectly ordered in an all-trans alkyl chain configuration. In marked contrast, films formed on planar, plasma-oxidized aluminum oxide or α-Al2O3 (0001) are replete with gauche defects. We attribute these differences to the nanocylindrical structure of AAO, which enforces molecular confinement.

Graphical abstract: Nanocylindrical confinement imparts highest structural order in molecular self-assembly of organophosphonates on aluminum oxide

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
05 Apr 2017
Accepted
27 Apr 2017
First published
09 May 2017

Nanoscale, 2017,9, 6291-6295

Nanocylindrical confinement imparts highest structural order in molecular self-assembly of organophosphonates on aluminum oxide

A. Pathak, A. Bora, B. Braunschweig, C. Meltzer, H. Yan, P. Lemmens, W. Daum, J. Schwartz and M. Tornow, Nanoscale, 2017, 9, 6291 DOI: 10.1039/C7NR02420G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements