Characterization of self-assembled monolayers of fullerene derivatives on gold surfaces: Implications for device evaluations

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) prepared from fullerene derivatives of thiols/thiol esters/disulfides are analyzed in detail and the complications due to multilayer formations and head-to-tail assemblies are revealed. Several fullerene derivatives based on thiols, thiol acetates and disulfides are designed and synthesized to address the characterization requirements and these are described and delineated.