Reaction of 5 eV O+ with a decanethiolate/Au(111) self-assembled monolayer

Abstract A beam of 5 eV O + reactively etches a decanethiolate/Au(1 1 1) self-assembled monolayer (SAM). Ion-induced modifications of the SAM are monitored in situ by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy at different stages during the O + dose. Approximately 3.8 carbon atoms are removed when 10 O + ions strike a decanethiolate molecule; furthermore, 18% of the incident oxygen ions become trapped in the SAM. This facile reactivity is directly compared to that observed for thermal O( 3 P) incident on an alkanethiolate SAM and to hyperthermal O( 3 P) bombarding various polymeric films.