化学科学杂志

Formation of Alkane-Thiolates on Gold Electrode

Abstract

Le Minh Cho

Since the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) is the most typical organic assembly used to create alkane-thiolates monolayers on gold electrodes, the modified SAM on gold has a wide variety of applications in many different study fields. In order to determine the most effective method of SAM removal so the ICE can be reused, this work investigated the desorption of a SAM that was formed on the gold surface of an interdigitated chainshaped electrode (the ICE, a novel electrode design, was created by our lab). Using a sodium borohydride solution and a short-term treatment, a straightforward and effective solution-based cleaning approach was used to remove a SAM from the gold surface of the ICE. This procedure was successful in recovering 90.3% of the ICE's original electrochemical properties. The successful re-deposition of a SAM onto the electrode surface following the removal process demonstrated that the ICE could be used again, yielding a high efficiency percentage of 90.1% for the reusability of ICE with the SAM modification. When removing SAM and recycling electrodes, the electrode interface alterations were examined using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The bonding structure and chemical state of the unmodified ICE and the changed ICE at each treatment step were characterised using the potent spectral techniques of X-ray photoelectron and Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy. We confirmed and demonstrated the efficacy of this promising method for the removal of a SAM from the ICE and the re-use of ICE in the field of material deposition, with the goals of cost savings, improved experimental handling and environmental protection, based on the thorough discussion of analytical chemistry from the obtained EIS and CV data in this study.