Surface Structures of Linear and Branched Alkyl-Side-Chain Polymer Coatings.

Sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy was utilized to investigate the surfaces and buried interfaces of release liners with hydrocarbon-side-chain-based release chemistries. Two release chemistries, RCA and RCB, both coated on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrates, were studied. The hydrocarbon side chains of RCA were linear, while RCB had a mixture of linear and branched side chains.

Photochemical grafting of n-alkenes onto carbon surfaces: the role of photoelectron ejection.

The grafting of molecular layers to carbon-based materials provides a way to combine the high chemical and thermal stability of these materials with surface properties such as chemical recognition or reactivity. The functionalization of surfaces with ultraviolet light has emerged as a way to modify difficult-to-functionalize materials, such as diamond. We have performed a combined experimental and computational investigation of the photochemical reaction of terminal alkenes with hydrogen-terminated carbon surfaces.

Electrical bias dependent photochemical functionalization of diamond surfaces.

Diamond is an excellent substrate for many sensing and electronic applications because of its outstanding stability in biological and aqueous environments. When the diamond surface is H-terminated, it can be covalently modified with organic alkenes using wet photochemical methods that are surface-mediated and initiated by the ejection of electrons from the diamond. To develop a better understanding of the photochemical reaction mechanism, we examine the effect of applying an electrical bias to the diamond samples during the photochemical reaction.

Electrical properties of diamond surfaces functionalized with molecular monolayers.

Recent studies have shown that semiconductor surfaces such as silicon and diamond can be functionalized with organic monolayers, and that these monolayer films can be used to tether biomolecules such as DNA to the surfaces. Electrical measurements of these interfaces show a change in response to DNA hybridization and other biological binding processes, but the fundamental nature of the electrical signal transduction has remained unclear. We have explored the electrical impedance of polycrystalline and single-crystal diamond surfaces modified with an organic monolayer produced by photochemical reaction of diamond with 1-dodecene.