Carboxylic acid decorated self-assembled monolayer films: new acid synthesis chemistry and reaction chemistry including bridged diacyl peroxide preparation.

Interfacial chemical transformations are an important way to control the physical and chemical properties of surfaces. Organic molecules that self-assemble into monolayers are a proven, effective tool for surface modification, and the ability to do controlled chemical transformations on the exposed surface of the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) adds significant diversity to this capability. Given the importance of carboxylic acid groups in applications ranging from controlling surface ionization to anchoring biological molecules, we have studied alternative ways to install acid groups on a surface and have probed the factors that control their chemistry.