In Situ Characterization of Self-Assembled Butanethiol Monolayers on Au(100) Electrodes

Abstract

We have studied butanethiol self-assembled monolayers on Au(100) using cyclic voltammetry and in situ scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The butanethiol adlayer shows ordered domains with a striped structure, the stripes running parallel to the main crystallographic axes of the substrate. After modification the surface reveals a 50% coverage of monoatomic high gold islands, but no vacancy islands were observed. Reductive and oxidative desorption of the film, previously studied by electrochemistry, were monitored by STM.