The synthesis of organic thiosulfates, up to 10 nm in length, which were tailored for generating artificial monomembranes on gold surfaces by electrochemically initiated deposition, was accomplished. (E)-3-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)acrylic acid (4-hydroxy cinnamic acid) was employed as aromatic head group and (C10H20-O-)n (n = 1, 3, 5, 7) building blocks were attached. The synthetic procedure comprises a series of nucleophilic substitutions under carefully defined conditions. Extended purification is crucial for eliminating non-reacted starting materials.
self-assembled monolayer (SAM) - organic thiosulfates (Bunte salts) - oligoether - long-chain surfactants - nucleophilic substitution