The electronic properties of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (alkanethiolate SAMs) associated with their molecular-scale geometry are investigated using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS). We have selectively formed the three types of alkanethiolate SAMs with standing-up, lying-down, and lattice-gas phases by precise thermal annealing of the SAMs which are conventionally prepared by depositing alkanethiol molecules onto Au(111) surface in solution. The empty and filled states of each SAM are evaluated over a wide energy range covering 6 eV above/below the Fermi level (E(F)) using two types of STS on the basis of tunneling current-voltage and distance-voltage measurements. Electronic states originating from rigid covalent bonds between the thiol group and substrate surface are observed near E(F) in the standing-up and lying-down phases but not in the lattice-gas phase. These states contribute to electrical conduction in the tunneling junction at a low bias voltage. At a higher energy, a highly conductive state stemming from the alkyl chain and an image potential state (IPS) formed in a vacuum gap appear in all phases. The IPS shifts toward a higher energy through the change in the geometry of the SAM from the standing-up phase to the lattice-gas phase through the lying-down phase. This is explained by the increasing work function of alkanethiolate/Au(111) with decreasing density of surface molecules.

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The physical properties of surface modified indium–tin oxide (ITO) and SnO2(110) with an adsorbed aliphatic chain monolayer were studied by soft-landing experiments coupled with infrared (IR) spectroscopy, temperature programmed desorption (TPD) spectroscopy, and scanning probe microscopy. The IR spectra showed that the aliphatic chains of palmitic acid on both the metal oxide surfaces form a crystalline-phase monolayer with an all-trans conformation at room temperature. Gas-phase synthesized Cr(benzene)2 cations deposited with a hyperthermal energy (20 eV) were used to probe the surface morphology. The IR spectrum after deposition showed that the cations soft-landed after being neutralized and oriented to cant the molecular axes far from the surface normal direction through penetration into the monolayer matrix. The TPD spectrum showed that the desorption activation energy of Cr(benzene)2 from an aliphatic monolayer on ITO is much lower than that from the aliphatic monolayer on SnO2 or a self-assembled monolayer of alkanethiol on Au(111). The lower thermal stability of Cr(benzene)2 on the aliphatic monolayer on ITO can be ascribed to considerable surface roughness of the ITO itself, which can be characterized by scanning probe microscopy.