title: Effect of headgroup on electrical conductivity of self-assembled monolayers on mercury: n-alkanethiols versus n-alkaneselenols.
abstract: The relative efficiencies of electron tunneling across self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of n-alkanethiols and n-alkaneselenols, CH(3)-(CH(2))(n)-XH, where n = 8, 9, 11, and X = S or Se, deposited on mercury electrodes were measured via electroreduction of Ru(NH(3))(6)(3+) in aqueous solutions. Electron tunneling rates across the monolayer films decay exponentially with the monolayer thickness with a tunneling coefficient, beta = 1.1 +/- 0.1 per CH(2) irrespective of the identity of the -XH headgroup. Electron tunneling rates across n-alkanethiol monolayers are ca. 4-fold larger than the rates measured across n-alkaneselenol monolayers containing the same number of carbon atoms, signifying the importance of headgroup/metal contact resistance in electron transfer through SAMs on mercury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, California 90840, USA.
authors.forename: Emel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Adaligil
authors.forename: Young-Seok
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Shon
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Slowinski