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Applied Sciences
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Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs) and Their Applications
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Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs) and Their Applications

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical and Molecular Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (22 April 2022) | Viewed by 7331

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Heng-Yong Nie

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Adjunct Research Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Western University (University of Western Ontario), London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
Interests: self-assembled monolayers (SAMs); surface engineering; ToF-SIMS approaches; AFM techniques; polymers

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of surfactants (e.g., alkanethiols, organosilanes, and organophosphonic acids) on a substrate refer to a single layer of the molecules, in which headgroups are anchored to the substrate and tails, usually a methylene chain with a terminating group (e.g., methyl, vinyl or amine), form an orderly structure via van der Walls forces. SAMs formed on metals or oxides allow one to generate controllable functionalities tailored by the terminating group. One of the key factors for SAM formation lies in interactions among the headgroups of the molecules, the substrate, and the solvent. Understanding SAM formation mechanisms may lead to a shortened processing time, or even omission of post-formation cleaning steps. This will be especially advantageous for industrial-scale applications where throughput and environmental impacts are a priority. Parallel to research on SAM formation mechanisms, applications of SAMs have in recent decades increased enormously in a wide variety of areas. This Special Issue aims to provide an overview of understanding SAM formation mechanisms and showcase applications of SAMs in areas including surface engineering, materials science, tribology, sensors, corrosion protection. and electronics. Open access to the articles published in this Special Issue is expected to bring in a wider audience, thus presenting an opportunity to inspire new applications of SAMs.

Prof. Dr. Heng-Yong Nie
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • self-assembled monolayers (SAMs)
  • surfactants
  • surface modification
  • materials science
  • applications of SAMs

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3728 KiB  
Article
AFM/XPS Analysis of the Growth and Architecture of Oriented Molecular Monolayer by Spin Cast Process and Its Cross-Linking Induced by Hyperthermal Hydrogen
by Jinkun Liu, Run Xu, Yan Zhu, De-Quan Yang, Heng-Yong Nie and Woon Ming Lau
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(12), 6233; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12126233 - 19 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1414
Abstract
We used atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to comprehensively study the growth and the cross-linking of dotriacontane (C32H66) nanofilms that were deposited on a silicon wafer by the spin-coating process. It was found that the [...] Read more.
We used atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to comprehensively study the growth and the cross-linking of dotriacontane (C32H66) nanofilms that were deposited on a silicon wafer by the spin-coating process. It was found that the molecular structure of the nanofilms changed with C32H66 concentration at the given spin speed, of which a monolayer of oriented C32H66 molecules, formed at lower deposition concentrations, was composed of a perpendicular orientation state with the molecular long-chain axis perpendicular to the substrate surface and a parallel orientation state, while the perpendicular state was essentially dominant when the nanofilm was formed at higher deposition concentrations. The shortening of the first perpendicular layer in AFM topography could be attributed to the mixing of both parallel and perpendicular lamellas in the first layer. XPS analysis indicated that the average thickness of the layer almost linearly increased with the C32H66 concentration. The monolayer of C32H66 film could be cross-linked by a hyperthermal hydrogen-induced cross-linking (HHIC) at a few eV via kinetic collision to cleave C-H bonds. The water contact angle measurement of extensive HHIC on C32H66 nanofilms disclosed that the static contact angle decreased with the treatment time (or fluence) and saturated after full cross-linking of the film. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs) and Their Applications)
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9 pages, 2545 KiB  
Article
Ab-Initio Investigations on Hydrogen Dissociation and Cross-Linking of Hydrocarbon Chains of Self-Assembled Monolayers of Alkanes
by Yan Zhu, Xin-Yuan Wei and Run Xu
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(12), 6020; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12126020 - 14 Jun 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1277
Abstract
First-principles calculations were carried out to study the structural and electronic properties of hydrocarbon chains of self-assembled monolayers with hydrogen dissociation. It was found that the incoming hydrogen could lead to the formation of H2 molecules by stripping the nearby hydrogen atoms [...] Read more.
First-principles calculations were carried out to study the structural and electronic properties of hydrocarbon chains of self-assembled monolayers with hydrogen dissociation. It was found that the incoming hydrogen could lead to the formation of H2 molecules by stripping the nearby hydrogen atoms in the chains and thereby leave the neighboring carbon atoms to be free radicals. Two parallel hydrocarbon chains with dangling bonds can form a direct C-C bond, i.e., cross-linking happens between the two chains, which is ascribed to a charge accumulation in the cross-linking region. The polymerization of short molecules into long hydrocarbon chains through a different cross-linking mode is also discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs) and Their Applications)
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15 pages, 3288 KiB  
Article
Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Analyses of Self-Assembled Monolayers of Octadecyltrimethoxysilane on SiO2 Substrate
by Heng-Yong Nie and Hamid-Reza Jahangiri-Famenini
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(10), 4932; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12104932 - 13 May 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2196
Abstract
The self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of organosilanes formed on an oxide substrate are thought to have a polymerized –Si–O–Si– network due to the homocondensation of silanols of hydrolyzed silane headgroups, which is the most significant difference in the SAMs of organosilanes in comparison with [...] Read more.
The self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of organosilanes formed on an oxide substrate are thought to have a polymerized –Si–O–Si– network due to the homocondensation of silanols of hydrolyzed silane headgroups, which is the most significant difference in the SAMs of organosilanes in comparison with those of alkanethoils and organophsosphonic acids. In order to explore the interface chemistry of organosilane SAMs, surface-sensitive time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was used to compare ion fragmentation differences between the SAMs of octadecyltrimethoxysilane (OTMS) formed on a SiO2 substrate and free OTMS molecules, as well as oxide substrate. The ability of ToF-SIMS to verify the hydrolysis of the methoxy groups of OTMS molecules and to assess the polymerized –Si–O–Si– network in their SAMs was demonstrated, which shows that ToF-SIMS provides unique information to help us understand the interface chemistry of OTMS SAMs formed on oxides. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs) and Their Applications)
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10 pages, 1803 KiB  
Article
Natural Stones with a Self-Cleaning Surface via Self-Assembled Monolayers
by Zhuoqi Duan, Zaixin Xie, Bao Zhou, Xiaobo Yang, Heng-Yong Nie and Yongmao Hu
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(9), 4771; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12094771 - 09 May 2022
Viewed by 1571
Abstract
Heritage buildings and monuments are mostly made from natural stone, which undergoes irreversible decay under outdoor conditions. The main reason for the contamination, degradation, and cracking of natural stones is water and oil permeation. Hence, modifications on stones rendering their surface self-cleaning are [...] Read more.
Heritage buildings and monuments are mostly made from natural stone, which undergoes irreversible decay under outdoor conditions. The main reason for the contamination, degradation, and cracking of natural stones is water and oil permeation. Hence, modifications on stones rendering their surface self-cleaning are effective for stone protection. Reported in this paper is the development of a bionic approach to enabling self-cleaning stone surface via growing self-assembled polydopamine (PDA) as the adhesive layer on the stone surface, followed by depositing Al2O3 nanoparticles derivatized by self-assembled monolayers of a fluorophosphonic acid (FPA). This approach ensured a robust surface modification that realized superhydrophobicity, as demonstrated on natural marbles, Hedishi, and Qingshi. The surface modification was thermally stable up to 400 °C. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs) and Their Applications)
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