Development of Self-Assembled Monolayers of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Assisted Cysteamine on Gold Electrodes

M. Muzibur Rahman^*1, Ahmad Umar and Kazuaki Sawada¹

¹Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Venture Business Laboratory,

Toyohashi University of Technology, 1-1, Hibarigaoka, Tempaku-cho, Toyohashi 441-8580, Japan.

Email: mmrahmanh@gmail.com

²Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Najran University, P.O. Box 1988,

Najran 11001, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

ABSTRACT

A highly organized self-aligned perpendicular self-assembled monolayers (SAM) by Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) assisted Cysteamine (2-Aminoethanethiol, AET) were fabricated on gold single crystal substrates. The fabricated nano-surfaces were investigated specially using FT-IR, cyclic voltammetry (CV), Raman spectroscopy, electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. The SWCNTs were cut into short pipes by chemical oxidation and then thiol-derivatized at the open ends. The perpendicular aggregation of SWCNT–AET on chemically polished Au(111) substrates was fabricated by their spontaneous chemical bonding between carboxyl derivatized SWCNT–COOH and AET SAM on Au(111), via peptide bonds, or directly by synthesized SWCNT–AET composites. Raman spectroscopy and AFM surface images clearly revealed that the SWCNT–AET (dia. 15-42 nm) has been perpendicular organized on gold substrates, forming a SAM with a perpendicular orientation. This kind of highly aligned nanotube assembly may provide wide possibilities for various applications.

Keywords: Self-Assembled Monolayer; Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube; Cysteamine; Cyclic Voltammetry; Surface coverages

Corresponding author:

M. Muzibur Rahman, PhD

Venture Business Laboratory,

Dept. of  Electrical & Electronic Engineering,

Toyohashi University of Technology,

1-1 Hibari-gaoka Tempaku-cho, Toyohashi,

Aichi 441-8580, Japan.

E-mail: mmrahmanh@gmail.com

Tel : +81-532-44-6974,  Fax: +81-532-44-6974