Ordering and defects in self-assembled monolayers on nanoporous gold

[Display omitted] •Highly ordered thiol-based SAMs form quickly on nanoporous gold.•Thiol-based SAMs on nanoporous gold have low defect levels.•The nanoporous structure leads to intermolecular interactions in pores. Self-assembled monolayers are commonly used to tailor nanoporous structures for applications, and they also provide a model system for determining the effects of nanoscale structure on self-assembly. We have investigated the ordering and defects in alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers on nanoporous gold, a high surface area mesoporous material. Infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy was used to characterize the effects of alkyl chain length and nanoporous gold pore size on molecular layer ordering. Cyclic voltammetry was used to characterize the monolayer density and ordering, with ferrocenylalkylthiolates used to quantify and characterize defect sites. We find that dense and well-ordered molecular layers form quickly with low defect levels. However, we do not observe differences in molecular layer ordering or defects with changes in pore size.