Active Control of Contact Angles of Various Liquids from the Response of Self-Assembled Thiol Molecules to Electric Current

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c00026
• Publication Date: 2023-03-27T19:16:53Z
• Authors: Daniel Lippert; Jacob Burnham; Dongjin Seo
• Keywords: Ethanethiol; Quartz Crystal Microbalance; Thiol; Chemical polarity; Attenuated total reflection

The ability to change wettability in situ would realize active surfaces that can their functionality and adapt different environments. This article reports a new easy method controls surface situ. In doing so, three hypotheses were be proven. First, thiol molecules with dipole moments at the end adsorbed onto gold could contact angles of nonpolar or slightly polar liquids when an electric current was provided without having ionize dipole. It also hypothesized undergo conformation changes as dipoles align magnetic field induced by applied current. Second, modified mixing ethanethiol, much shorter no dipole, abovementioned because it provide space for changes. Third, indirect evidence verified attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Four controlled deionized water hydrocarbon identified. abilities those four changing adding ethanethiol. A quartz crystal microbalance used infer possible distance between investigating adsorption kinetics. FT-IR peaks respect currents presented change. compared other reported methods control differences voltage-driven induce this paper further discussed emphasize mechanism which most likely dipole–electric interaction.