Self-Assembled Monolayer Experiments in Undergraduate Laboratories

Abstract

This talk will describe a junior/senior level undergraduate laboratory for analytical or physical chemistry that can be used to demonstrate how self-assembled monolayers (SAM) form and pack onto a surface. The laboratory experiment will also introduce students to electrochemical techniques, instrumentation and surface analysis techniques. This experiment uses both chronocoulometry to determine the surface area of an electrode as well as using reductive desorption to determine the surface coverage and packing of the SAM. Discussion of how molecules interact with the monolayers will also be discussed.