Synthesis of molecular-gripper-type dynamic receptors and STM-imaging of self-assembled monolayers on gold

Dynamic receptors capable of undergoing large temperature or pH-dependent conformational changes were functionalised with dialkyl thioether legs and adsorbed on Au(111) single crystal surfaces to give self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). The SAMs were characterised by ellipsometry and contact angle measurements. Imaging by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) revealed well-ordered monolayers at molecular resolution.