Self-assembly of C60 fullerenes on NH2-functionalized gold and silicon oxide surfaces

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During this work we studied the realization of amine-terminated molecular layers. On silicon oxide, the aminopropyletrimethoxysilane (APTMS) was deposited from a solution, and via an original method by dry process which allowed us to highlight the characteristic times of grafting and organization of the APTMS layer. On gold, aminoethanethiol (AET) and aminothiophenol (ATP) monolayers were made from a solution. We then studied the structural and kinetic aspects of the grafting of C60 fullerenes onto such clinging layers, consisting of amine terminations either on the whole surface or in isolated areas (binary layers). UV-Visible, FTIR, Raman, and XPS spectroscopy techniques have been used to observe the grafting of C60 onto amino layers. Exalted mode Raman spectroscopy (SERS) highlighted that the ATP molecules were more tilted after reflux grafting of the C60s. Analyses of the various layers at the molecular scale were carried out by local probe microscopy (AFM, STM), and electrical measurements carried out on gold using the STM tip showed the insulating character of the cling layer alone and a gap close to that of C60 after grafting of the fullerenes. They also highlighted that C60 was grafted selectively on the amine-terminated areas of the binary cling layers. Finally, a potential application of C60 layers being molecular memories, the electrical properties of the various layers were measured using evaporated electrical contacts.

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