A New Family of Molecules for Self-Assembly: The Carboranes

To be useful in real-world applications, a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of molecules on a surface must have a stable and controllable geometry. Researchers at Penn State and the Sigma-Aldrich company have found a way to control geometry and stability by making SAMs out of different carboranethiol isomers, which are cage-like molecules.

"Our results allow us to control the chemical and physical properties of the SAM without changing its structure," said team leader Penn State Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Physics Paul Weiss. "The ability to control these types of properties enables us to create SAMs that, for example, selectively capture biomolecules from complex mixtures. These carboranethiol molecules give us exceptionally high-quality SAMs, largely because of their simplicity. This innovation opens up new capabilities in terms of patterning and control. We are trying to come up with simple and economical means to control the chemistry of a surface all the way from the wafer scale (several centimeters) down to the single-molecule scale (sub-nanometer)."

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