Effect of the solvent on the formation of n-dodecanethiol films on a polycrystalline Ag90Ni10 substrate

This paper reports the study of the solvent (ethanol, toluene, acetonitrile and carbon tetrachloride) effect on the self-assembling of alkanethiol monolayers on a polished and electroreduced Ag90Ni10 alloy. Good quality organic films on such substrates are obtained from ethanolic solutions (n-dodecanethiol: 10−1 M, reaction time: 16 h). With similar reaction conditions, carbon tetrachloride leads to films of poor quality, while the organic layers formed from acetonitrile and toluene solutions are of intermediate quality.