---
OA_type: closed access
_id: '17922'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Gold–thiol contacts are ubiquitous across the physical and biological sciences
    in connecting organic molecules to surfaces. When thiols bind to gold in self-assembled
    monolayers (SAMs) the fate of the hydrogen remains a subject of profound debate—with
    implications for our understanding of their physical properties, spectroscopic
    features and formation mechanism(s). Exploiting measurements of the transmission
    through a molecular junction, which is highly sensitive to the nature of the molecule–electrode
    contact, we demonstrate here that the nature of the gold–sulfur bond in SAMs can
    be probed via single-molecule conductance measurements. Critically, we find that
    SAM measurements of dithiol-terminated molecular junctions yield a significantly
    lower conductance than solution measurements of the same molecule. Through numerous
    control experiments, conductance noise analysis and transport calculations based
    on density functional theory, we show that the gold–sulfur bond in SAMs prepared
    from the solution deposition of dithiols does not have chemisorbed character,
    which strongly suggests that under these widely used preparation conditions the
    hydrogen is retained.
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Michael S.
  full_name: Inkpen, Michael S.
  last_name: Inkpen
- first_name: Zhen–Fei
  full_name: Liu, Zhen–Fei
  last_name: Liu
- first_name: Haixing
  full_name: Li, Haixing
  last_name: Li
- first_name: Luis M.
  full_name: Campos, Luis M.
  last_name: Campos
- first_name: Jeffrey B.
  full_name: Neaton, Jeffrey B.
  last_name: Neaton
- first_name: Latha
  full_name: Venkataraman, Latha
  id: 9ebb78a5-cc0d-11ee-8322-fae086a32caf
  last_name: Venkataraman
  orcid: 0000-0002-6957-6089
citation:
  ama: Inkpen MS, Liu Z, Li H, Campos LM, Neaton JB, Venkataraman L. Non-chemisorbed
    gold–sulfur binding prevails in self-assembled monolayers. <i>Nature Chemistry</i>.
    2019;11(4):351-358. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-019-0216-y">10.1038/s41557-019-0216-y</a>
  apa: Inkpen, M. S., Liu, Z., Li, H., Campos, L. M., Neaton, J. B., &#38; Venkataraman,
    L. (2019). Non-chemisorbed gold–sulfur binding prevails in self-assembled monolayers.
    <i>Nature Chemistry</i>. Springer Nature. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-019-0216-y">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-019-0216-y</a>
  chicago: Inkpen, Michael S., Zhen–Fei Liu, Haixing Li, Luis M. Campos, Jeffrey B.
    Neaton, and Latha Venkataraman. “Non-Chemisorbed Gold–Sulfur Binding Prevails
    in Self-Assembled Monolayers.” <i>Nature Chemistry</i>. Springer Nature, 2019.
    <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-019-0216-y">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-019-0216-y</a>.
  ieee: M. S. Inkpen, Z. Liu, H. Li, L. M. Campos, J. B. Neaton, and L. Venkataraman,
    “Non-chemisorbed gold–sulfur binding prevails in self-assembled monolayers,” <i>Nature
    Chemistry</i>, vol. 11, no. 4. Springer Nature, pp. 351–358, 2019.
  ista: Inkpen MS, Liu Z, Li H, Campos LM, Neaton JB, Venkataraman L. 2019. Non-chemisorbed
    gold–sulfur binding prevails in self-assembled monolayers. Nature Chemistry. 11(4),
    351–358.
  mla: Inkpen, Michael S., et al. “Non-Chemisorbed Gold–Sulfur Binding Prevails in
    Self-Assembled Monolayers.” <i>Nature Chemistry</i>, vol. 11, no. 4, Springer
    Nature, 2019, pp. 351–58, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-019-0216-y">10.1038/s41557-019-0216-y</a>.
  short: M.S. Inkpen, Z. Liu, H. Li, L.M. Campos, J.B. Neaton, L. Venkataraman, Nature
    Chemistry 11 (2019) 351–358.
date_created: 2024-09-09T07:48:03Z
date_published: 2019-04-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2024-12-11T08:00:35Z
day: '01'
doi: 10.1038/s41557-019-0216-y
extern: '1'
external_id:
  pmid:
  - '30833721'
intvolume: '        11'
issue: '4'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '04'
oa_version: None
page: 351-358
pmid: 1
publication: Nature Chemistry
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1755-4349
  issn:
  - 1755-4330
publication_status: published
publisher: Springer Nature
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Non-chemisorbed gold–sulfur binding prevails in self-assembled monolayers
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 11
year: '2019'
...