Growth kinetics and morphology of self-assembled monolayers formed by contact printing 7-octenyltrichlorosilane and octadecyltrichlorosilane on Si(100) wafers

The growth kinetics and morphology of self-assembled monolayers formed by contact printing 7-octenyltrichlorosilane (OCT) and ocatadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS), on Si(100) were investigated. It was observed that, for both OCT and OTS, full monolayer could be obtained at room temperature after printing times of 120-180 s. It was also observed that at a dew point of 10°C and an ink concentration (in tolune) of 50 mM, the film growth rate constant was 0.05 s ^-1. The different film morphologies seen for OCT and OTS were proposed to result from the different transfer efficiencies of the organotrichlorosilane relative to polysiloxane hydrolysis products formed during the printing process.