Easy and versatile functionalization of lithium niobate wafers by hydrophobic trichlorosilanes

The functionalization of lithium niobate surface has been successfully obtained by the grafting of trichloro-organosilane derivatives thanks to liquid phase silanization or micro-contact printing. This functionalization has been proved by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The data show that the stability of the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) film on the trichloro(1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl)silane-modified lithium niobate surface is largely due to the formation of a siloxy-niobate (-Si-O-Nb-) bond via a condensation reaction between -Si-Cl and niobate hydroxide (-NbOH). The extremely hydrophobic and stable SAM on lithium niobate could have useful applications in acoustic droplet handling and more generally surface acoustic waves (SAW) device preparation for lab-on-chip devices.