title: Roughening of gold atomic steps induced by interaction with tetrahydrofuran.
abstract: Exposure of a clean gold surface to tetrahydrofuran (THF) under ambient conditions was observed to cause roughening of atomic step edges. This change was followed in situ using a scanning tunneling microscope during the exposure of a gold surface to a controlled stream of THF vapor. THF is a common solvent used in depositing molecules, self-assembled monolayers, and polymer films on surfaces, in electrochemistry, and in chemical reactions. Unlike other solvents, such as methanol, ethanol and diethyl ether, however, we found that THF itself has a profound effect on the surface morphology that needs to be taken into account when reporting on the interactions of solutes with a gold surface. At the same time, this finding may present new opportunities in catalysis or nanostructuring of surfaces.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4M1, Canada.
authors.forename: Warren R T
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Barden
authors.forename: Sherdeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kruse
mesh_terms: D005663:Furans / Q000737:chemistry*; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D005663:Furans; C018674:tetrahydrofuran; D006046:Gold