Observation of stable mixed alkanethiolate–chloride adlayer on Ag(1 1 1): structural correlation with pure alkanethiolate monolayers

The self-assembly of 1-alkanethiols, CH3(CH2)n−1SH (n=2–16), on Ag(1 1 1) film initially covered with a native oxide monolayer and that on a chloride-covered Ag(1 1 1) were comparatively studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. The native oxide monolayer was readily substituted completely by thiolates irrespective of chain length, leading to a dense (√7×√7)R19.1° monolayer for n<3, or a distorted (√7×√7)R19.1° structure for n>3 accompanied by distinct island and fine domain structures previously reported by other groups. In contrast, the chloride-to-thiolate conversion was far from complete for long alkanethiols (n⩾8), and at sufficiently high conversion temperature (>50 °C), we found a highly stable mixed thiolate–chloride monolayer with a well-defined 2:1 S/Cl atomic ratio, suggesting the occurrence of a mixed (√7×√7)R19.1° adlayer ordering. The combined effects of substrate-molecule and intermolecular interactions behind these contrastive phenomena are discussed.