Carboxylates on metals

This local adsorption geometry for formate on Cu(100) and Cu(110), with the molecular plane perpendicular to the surface and bonding through the two carboxylate atoms in near-atop sites, is also seen in other simple carboxylate species adsorbed on Cu(110), notably acetate (CH3COO—) [103] and benzoate (CgFIjCOO—) [104] formed, respectively, by exposure to acetic acid and benzoic acid. Relatively recent X-ray spectroscopy measurements combined with theoretical calculations provide further information on the bonding of formate and acetate on Cu(110) [105]. 

A significantly more complex group of molecular carboxylic acids are the amino acids, and there have recently been some detailed structural studies of the simplest of these, glycine and alanine, on Cu surfaces. Glycine, NH2CH2COOH, is the 

---

The best-known example for SAM formation and consequently the most exploited system is the chemisorptions of thiols on gold, ° ° but also other systems are possible, such as carboxylates on metal oxides or silicates on glass,... 

---