We demonstrate that a mercaptan-terminated organophosphonate nanolayer at gold-titania interfaces can give rise to two- to three-fold enhancement in the interfacial fracture toughness and thermal conductance. Electron spectroscopy reveals that interfacial delamination occurs at the metal-molecule interface near the gold-sulfur bonds, consistent with density functional theory calculations of bond energies. Qualitative correlation between interfacial fracture toughness and bond energies suggest that organophosphonate nanolayers are resilient to humidity-induced degradation. These results, and the versatility of organophosphonates as surface functionalization agents for technologically relevant materials, unlock uncharted avenues for molecular engineering of interfaces in materials and devices for a variety of applications.
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20 May 2013
Research Article|
May 21 2013
Gold-titania interface toughening and thermal conductance enhancement using an organophosphonate nanolayer
Philippe K. Chow;
Philippe K. Chow
1
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
, Troy, New York 12180, USA
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Y. Cardona Quintero;
Y. Cardona Quintero
2
Materials Science and Engineering, University of Connecticut
, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, USA
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Peter O'Brien;
Peter O'Brien
1
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
, Troy, New York 12180, USA
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P. Hubert Mutin;
P. Hubert Mutin
3
Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier
, UMR 5253 CNRS-UM2-ENSCM-UM1, Université Montpellier 2, CC 1701, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
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Michael Lane;
Michael Lane
4
Chemistry Department, Emory and Henry College
, Emory, Virginia 24327, USA
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R. Ramprasad;
R. Ramprasad
2
Materials Science and Engineering, University of Connecticut
, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, USA
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Ganpati Ramanath
Ganpati Ramanath
a)
1
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
, Troy, New York 12180, USA
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a)
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic mail: Ramanath@rpi.edu
Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 201605 (2013)
Article history
Received:
February 08 2013
Accepted:
May 04 2013
Citation
Philippe K. Chow, Y. Cardona Quintero, Peter O'Brien, P. Hubert Mutin, Michael Lane, R. Ramprasad, Ganpati Ramanath; Gold-titania interface toughening and thermal conductance enhancement using an organophosphonate nanolayer. Appl. Phys. Lett. 20 May 2013; 102 (20): 201605. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4807436
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