ac3034085_si_001.pdf (970.72 kB)
In Situ, Real Time Monitoring of Surface Transformation: Ellipsometric Microscopy Imaging of Electrografting at Microstructured Gold Surfaces
journal contribution
posted on 2013-02-19, 00:00 authored by Sorin Munteanu, Nicolas Garraud, Jean Paul Roger, Fabien Amiot, Jian Shi, Yong Chen, Catherine Combellas, Frédéric KanoufiSurface chemical reactivity is imaged by combining electrochemical
activation of a surface transformation process with spatiotemporal
ellipsometric microscopy. An imaging ellipsometric microscope is built,
allowing ellipsometric images of surfaces with a lateral resolution
of ∼1 μm and a thickness sensitivity of ∼0.1 nm
in air and 0.4 nm in a liquid. These performances are particularly
adapted for using such optical setup as an in situ, real time chemical
microscope to observe a chemical surface transformation. This microscope
is tested for the monitoring of the electrochemically actuated diazonium
grafting of a gold surface. Such reaction is a model system of organic
material deposition on a gold surface induced by an electrochemical
actuation. Using either plain or physically or chemically structured
electrodes, it allows for the characterization of local phenomena
associated with the electrografting process. This illustrates its
potential to reveal the local (electro)chemical reactivity of surfaces.