New One-Step Thiol Functionalization Procedure for Ni by Self-Assembled Monolayers

This article reports on a facile and fast strategy for the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) functionalization of nickel surfaces, employing cyclic voltammetry (CV) cycling of a suitable tailored solution containing the species to be adsorbed. Results are presented for ultrathin films formed on Ni by 1-hexadecanethiol (C16), l-cysteine (l-cys), and the poly­{methyl (2R)-3-(2,2′-bithiophen-4-ylsulfanyl)-2-[(tert-butoxycarbonyl)­amino]­propanoate} (PCT-L) thiophene-based chiral polymer. The effective formation of high-quality ultrathin organic films on the nickel was verified both electrochemically and by exploiting typical surface characterization techniques such as contact angle, ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy (AFM), polarization modulation–infrared reflection–absorption spectroscopy (PM–IRRAS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).