Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy investigations on the L-cysteine-thiolate self-assembled monolayers formed at p-GaAs(100) electrodes

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy investigations carried out in solutions with different pH brought evidence that the monolayers of L-cysteine-thiolate self-assembled on GaAs (hkl) electrodes exert a complex molecular control over their electrochemical behavior. The analysis of the impedance spectra coupled with that of the XPS data and the AFM images taken before and after the EIS measurements reveled that both pH and applied potential brings significant changes at the electrified interface. The most important effect of pH is the conformational change of the L-cysteine-thiolate molecule observed at pH 11 that allows the interaction of the carboxyl group with the substrate atoms. A similar conformational change occurs at pH 5.5 but only under the applied potential control, being just a consequence of another major effect of the applied electric field. This is the H+ transfer inside the L-cysteine-thiolate film, an electric field driven process but pH dependent, which results in significant charge diminution both in the organic overlayer and in the semiconductor depletion region.