Effect of substitution on the charge transport properties of oligophenylenethiolate self-assembled monolayers.

Electrostatic effects in charge transport across the molecular framework, including those imposed by halogen atoms, have recently attracted noticeable attention of the molecular-electronics community. In this context, in the present work, we studied the effect of tail group (R) substitution on the charge transport properties of oligophenylenethiolate self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on Au(111), with R = H, F, CH, and CF. The length of the molecular backbone was varied from one to three rings and the quality, basic parameters, and electrostatic properties of the SAMs were monitored.