This paper details the formation of oriented monolayer films by the solutio
n-phase adsorption of n-alkyl-chained adsorbates (CH3(CH2)(n-1)Y) onto the
polar surfacer of terminally-substituted self-assembled monolayers (SAMs; A
u/S(CH2)(m)X). The polar tail groups (X and Y) of the adsorbate and SAM inc
luded amine, carboxylic acid, and amide groups, and the formation of the ad
sorbed monomolecular films on the SAMs relied on non-covalent interactions
between X and Y. Highly organized monomolecular adlayers could be produced
on the SAM surface that were as densely packed as the underlying alkanethio
late SAMs comprising the first layer. The quality of the adsorbed monolayer
s was related to the identities of the tail groups X and Y.