Preparation of amino-terminated monolayers via hydrolysis of phthalimide anchored to Si(1 1 1)

Phthalimide monolayers were prepared on silicon (1 1 1) by the reaction of hydrogen-terminated silicon surfaces with vinylphthalimide. The hydrolysis reaction of phthalimide on silicon surfaces was performed in a methylamine solution to prepare amino-terminated monolayers. A series of reactions to prepare amino-terminated monolayers was investigated with attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. This work provides a simple method to prepare amino-terminated organic monolayers act as anchor layers to immobilize functional molecules such as dyes, DNA and proteins.