Template-stripped substrates with solvent-impermeable metal thin films

Template-stripped substrates provide on-demand access
to clean,
ultraflat gold surfaces, avoiding the need for laborious cleaning
procedures or the use of expensive single-crystal electrodes. While
these gold/adhesion layer/support sandwich structures are most conveniently
prepared through the application of epoxy or optical adhesives, such
composites exhibit instabilities in organic solvents that limit their
wider application. Here we demonstrate that substrates with solvent-impermeable
metal films can be used in previously problematic chemical environments
after integration into a protective, custom-built (electrochemical)
flow cell. We apply our methodology to probe different self-assembled
monolayers, observing reproducible alkanethiol reductive desorption
features, an exemplary redox response using 6-(ferrocenyl)hexanethiol,
and corroborate findings that cobalt(II) bis(terpyridine) assemblies
exhibit a low coverage. This work significantly extends the utility
of these substrates, relative to mechanically polished or freshly
deposited alternatives, particularly for studies of systems involving
adsorbed molecules whose properties are strongly influenced by the
nanoscopic features of the metal-solution interface.