Covalent grafting nitrophenyl group on Au surface via click reaction: Assembling process and electrochemical behaviors

In this paper, we described a simple and facile method for the covalent functionalization of Au surface with nitrophenyl group via stepwise strategy. Structurally well-defined azide-terminated organic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) were formed on Au surface from a commercially available mixture solution of azidoundecanethiol and dilute thiol. Subsequent, derivatization of the azide-terminated monolayers was conducted in aqueous environments with ethynyl nitrobenzene via a selective, reliable, robust click reaction. By this way, the nitrophenyl group was covalently and quantitatively grafted on Au surface, which was confirmed by Raman Spectrometry and electrochemical methods. These results demonstrated the efficiency of using click chemistry in assembling covalently linked nanostructures.