Evidence of click and coordination reactions on a self-assembled monolayer by synchrotron radiation based XPS and NEXAFS

► Ethynyl terpyridines were clicked to azide-terminated SAMs on gold. ► Azides and clicked terpyridines were characterized by N and C K-NEXAFS and N 1s XPS. ► S 1s + S 2p XPS was used to characterize the buried gold-sulfur interface of the SAM. ► Higher click reaction temperature leads to an increased amount of terpyridyl groups. ► Introduced terpyridyl groups are accessible for Pd(II) ion coordination.