Bis(trifluoromethyl)methylene addition to vinyl-terminated SAMs: a gas-phase C-C bond-forming reaction on a surface.

Vinyl-terminated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on silicon oxide substrates were chemically modified by the addition of a bis(trifluoromethyl)methylene group in a rare gas-phase C-C bond-forming reaction to directly generate films carrying terminal CF3 groups. The vinyl-terminated films were treated with hexafluoroacetone azine (HFAA) for modification. The films were characterized with ellipsometry, contact angle measurements, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In this study, we find that for optimized conditions clean reactions occur on a surface between SAMs with terminal olefins and HFAA, and the product is consistent with bis(trifluoromethyl)cyclopropanation formation after nitrogen extrusion.

Organic chemistry on surfaces: Direct cyclopropanation by dihalocarbene addition to vinyl terminated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs).

C11-Vinyl-terminated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on silica surfaces are successfully modified in C-C bond forming reactions with dihalocarbenes to generate SAMs, terminated with dihalo- (fluoro, chloro, bromo) cyclopropane motifs with about 30% surface coverage.