Disassembly of intermolecular hydrogen bond induced by cations on self-assembled monolayer

Intermolecular hydrogen bond, a kind of basic van der Waals bonds, commonly exists in biological systems. As a fundamental step in biological metabolism, the disassembly process of hydrogen bond is necessary to be given more attention. Here, we have demonstrated the disassembly of intermolecular hydrogen bond by scanning electrochemical microscopy. The intermolecular hydrogen bond was designed between the hydroxyl of ferrocenemethanol (FcCH2OH) and the carboxyl group of 3-mercaptopropionic acid (3-MPA), and FcCH2OH was bonded on 3-MPA self-assembled monolayer modified electrode surface. Cation (Mg2+, Ca2+ or Ba2+), as an external stimulus, induced the disassembly of hydrogen bond by forming ion-pair with terminal carboxylate anion. Furthermore, the inducing capability of cation was Mg2+