O. Berg et D. Klenerman, Effects of mechanical compression on the vibrational spectrum of a self-assembled monolayer, J APPL PHYS, 90(10), 2001, pp. 5070-5074
A molecular monolayer (octadecanethiol on gold) is compressed between a bro
nze ball and a sapphire prism. Vibrational spectra are obtained by optical
sum-frequency generation before, during, and after a pressure cycle to 660
MPa (6.6 kbar). Both reversible and permanent effects are observed on the f
requency, intensity, and shape of methyl C-H stretching resonances in the m
onolayer. Spectral broadening indicates the heterogeneity of chemical envir
onments in the contact, while a pressure-dependent loss of orientational or
der attenuates the resonant signals. These results from a model system demo
nstrate that contact-modifying molecular films can be investigated spectros
copically. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.