Molecular Origin of the Odd–Even Effect of Macroscopic Properties of n‑Alkanethiolate Self-Assembled Monolayers: Bulk or Interface?

Elucidating the influence of the monolayer interface versus bulk on the macroscopic properties (e.g., surface hydrophobicity, charge transport, and electron transfer) of organic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) chemically anchored to metal surfaces is a challenge. This article reports the characterization of prototypical SAMs of n-alkanethiolates on gold (CH3(CH2) n SAu, n = 6–19) at the macroscopic scale by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and contact angle goniometry, and at the molecular level, by infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy. The SAM capacitance, dielectric constant, and surface hydrophobicity exhibit dependencies on both the length (n) and parity (n odd or n even) of the polymethylene chain. The peak positions of the CH2 stretching modes indicate a progressive increase in the chain conformational order with increasing n between n = 6 and 16. SAMs of n odd have a greater degree of structural gauche defects than SAMs of n even. The peak intensities and positions of the CH3 stretching modes are chain length independent but show an odd–even alternation of the spatial orientation of the terminal CH3. The correlations between the different data trends establish that the chain length dependencies of the dielectric constant and surface hydrophobicity originate from changes in the polymethylene chain conformation (bulk), while the odd–even variation arises primarily from a difference in the chemical composition of the interface related to the terminal group orientation. These findings provide new physical insights into the structure–property relation of SAMs for the design of ultrathin film dielectrics as well as the understanding of stereostructural effects on the electrical characteristics of tunnel junctions.