Covalent Surface Modification of Oxide Surfaces

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie (International ed.) Vol. 53; no. 25; pp. 6322 - 6356
• Main Authors: Pujari, Sidharam P., Scheres, Luc, Marcelis, Antonius T. M., Zuilhof, Han
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim WILEY-VCH Verlag 16.06.2014; WILEY‐VCH Verlag; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Edition: International ed. in English
• Subjects: Biosensors; contact-angle hysteresis; Covalence; covalent bonds; Deposition; field-effect transistors; indium-tin oxide; Microprocessors; Monolayers; Optoelectronic devices; organized molecular assemblies; Oxides; oxidized aluminum surface; phosphonic acid monolayers; Properties (attributes); reaction mechanisms; Robustness; Scratching; self-assembled monolayers; Semiconductors; sensitized solar-cells; single-crystal surfaces; Substrates; Surface chemistry; Surface properties; thin-film transistors; Tuning; reaction mechanisms; surface chemistry; covalent bonds; monolayers; oxides
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201306709

The modification of surfaces by the deposition of a robust overlayer provides an excellent handle with which to tune the properties of a bulk substrate to those of interest. Such control over the surface properties becomes increasingly important with the continuing efforts at down‐sizing the active components in optoelectronic devices, and the corresponding increase in the surface area/volume ratio. Relevant properties to tune include the degree to which a surface is wetted by water or oil. Analogously, for biosensing applications there is an increasing interest in so‐called “romantic surfaces”: surfaces that repel all biological entities, apart from one, to which it binds strongly. Such systems require both long lasting and highly specific tuning of the surface properties. This Review presents one approach to obtain robust surface modifications of the surface of oxides, namely the covalent attachment of monolayers. Not just scratching the surface: Covalently attached monolayers on oxide surfaces are reviewed with an eye to improved robustness, increased functionalization, understanding structural details, and the resulting potential for applications. Such monolayers, provided they are robust enough, provide a way of improving the properties of the bulk oxide material.