This award is for support of a cooperative project by Professor Mark M Banaszak Holl, Department of Chemistry, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan and Dr. Sefik Suzer, Chemistry Department, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey. They plan to explore the structure and reactivity of H8Si8O12 and H10Si10O15 Cluster monolayers on gold surfaces, by conducting synchrotron X-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy (SXPS) experiments. The discovery that these clusters can form monolayers on gold surface, apparently via a mild Si-H activation route at 20-degree C was a surprising result. The combination of high-resolution, high surface sensitivity synchrotron characterization and a system, which can be prepared entirely under ultrahigh vacuum conditions, provides a unique opportunity to obtain detailed structural information about this type of cluster-based monolayer system. The two scientists have also recently discovered that other Si-H bonds, particularly those of alkylsilanes, also react readily with gold surfaces under these conditions. This allows the preparation of alkylsilane-based monolayers that are closely related to the important alkanethiol-based systems that have seen such extensive study and application in recent years. SXPS characterization of these systems is critical.
Scope: In this project the collaborators plan to combine their expertise in an important scientific research. The expertise of the two scientists are complementary and the facilities to be used will be at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) and at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. The U. of Michigan has a strong SXPS program. The Turkish PI is an internationally prominent surface scientist, and the graduate students from the U. of Michigan will benefit from working with him at the beamline and in the Michigan laboratories. The US PI will be supported under a separate grant, DMR-0093641, being recommended by DMR and CHE. The project meets INT criteria for support of cooperative projects that are mutually beneficial.
