Surface electrochemistry and molecular orientation: Studies of pyridyl hydroquinones adsorbed at Pt(111) by cyclic voltammetry, Auger electron spectroscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy

Surface-Bound Porphyrazines: Controlling Reduction Potentials of Self-Assembled Monolayers through Molecular Proximity/Orientation to a Metal Surface

We report the preparation of two novel H2[pz(An;B(4-n))] porphyrazines (pzs) which were designed to position themselves quite differently when attached to a surface: one to form a standard self-assembled monolayer (SAM) roughly perpendicular to a surface, the other to lie horizontally along a surface. As the former, we synthesized a pz, 1, where one pyrrole group is functionalized with two thioethers terminated in mercaptides (SR, R = (CH2)3CONH(CH2)2S-), each protected as a disulfide, and -S-Me is attached to the other pyrrole sites; the latter is a pz, 2, with dialkoxybenzo groups fused to two trans-pyrroles of the pz ring, and SR groups are attached to the other pair of pyrroles. Nanostructures of 1 and 2 were successfully patterned on gold surfaces via dip-pen nanolithography, and the predicted molecular orientation of the resulting structures was confirmed by topographic AFM images. The two pzs exhibit similar reduction potentials in solution. Both show large shifts in potential upon surface binding, with the magnitude of the shift depending on the proximity/orientation of the pz to the surface. The first reduction potential of the "vertically" aligned 1 shifts by ca. +430 mV when incorporated in a binary pz/hexanethiol SAM, while that for 2, which lies flat, shifts by ca. +800 mV; the potential thus shifts by ca. +370 mV upon taking a given pz that stands atop a two-legged insulating "standoff" in a traditional SAM and "laying it down". We suggest these observed effects can be explained by image-charge energetics, and this is supported by a simple model.

Detection of hydrazine, methylhydrazine and isoniazid by capillary electrophoresis with a 4-pyridyl hydroquinone self-assembled microdisk platinum electrode

Capillary electrophoresis (CE)/electrochemical detection (EC) for the simultaneous detection of hydrazine, methylhydrazine, and isoniazid has been developed with a 4-pyridyl hydroquinone self-assembled microdisk platinum electrode. Such an electrode has very high catalytic ability for hydrazines and they could be detected even at 0.0 V. The responses for hydrazine, methylhydrazine, and isoniazid are linear over 3 orders of detected concentration and of magnitude of 0.2-400 microM, 0.2-400 microM, 0.5 microM-2 mM, with correlation coefficients of 0.9998, 0.9991, and 0.9982, respectively. And they could be detected to levels of 0.1, 0.1 and 0.2 microM, respectively. This modified electrode was found to be very stable and reproducible when continuously used as detector for capillary electrophoresis for period of at least 4 weeks with no apparent loss of response.