Abstract
Our recent work with cyclic and acyclic polyether
self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold is presented. A series
of dithia-crown-tetrathiafulvalene derivatives with one or two
disulfide groups has been prepared, and their SAMs on gold have been
characterized by electrochemistry and by reflection–absorption
infrared spectroscopy. These SAMs are extremely stable on repeated
electrochemical potential scans and can selectively recognize alkali
metal ions. Acyclic polyether derivatives can also self-assemble on
gold to yield selective metal ion recognition domains. Impedance
spectroscopy data for these SAMs fit the Langmuir isotherm and allow
the determination of ion association constants. Some of the SAMs
prepared with new acyclic polyether derivatives are able to detect
potassium cations selectively when templated in their presence. These
structures are believed to be a consequence of ion “imprinting”
during the process of SAM formation.
