Raman characterization of monolayers formed from mixtures of sodium 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate and various aromatic mercapto-derivative bases.

Metal electrodes covered with organic (mono)layers containing pi-delocalized structures have many potential applications, for example, in construction of bioelectronic elements with high efficiency of electron transfer. In this contribution, a silver surface was modified with mixed monolayers formed from sodium 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate (MES) and four model (stable and easily available) aromatic thiols with strong basic properties: 4,6-diamino-2-mercaptopyrimidine (APY), 1H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol (HTR), 4-methyl-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol (MTR), and 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole-5-thiol (ATR). The structure of the formed monolayers was determined from surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) measurements. These studies showed that, despite significant differences in the molecular structures, MES is a very promising candidate for making mixed monolayers with mercapto-derivative aromatic bases that are relatively homogeneous (without large one-component domains) in broad pH range. At high pH, in a one-component ATR monolayer, a significant amount of molecules are in the anionic form and adopt a flat orientation versus the metal surface. At the same pH, in mixed ATR+MES monolayers, a significantly larger part of ATR molecules than for the respective one-component monolayer is adsorbed in the neutral form with the aromatic ring(s) oriented perpendicularly to the metal surface. Also in the mixed APY+MES and HTR+MES monolayers, a significantly smaller part of HTR or APY molecules than for the respective one-component HTR and APY monolayers is deprotonated. The structure of the MTR monolayer practically does not depend on the pH of the surrounding solution. Increase of the ratio of acidic dissociation and reorientation of ATR molecules from the perpendicular to the parallel orientation is also observed during storage of the respective one-component and mixed monolayers in water, phosphorus buffers, and in the solutions of model peptides (bovine serum albumin or laccase). In some cases, the reorientation of ATR molecules forming the linkage monolayer when immersed in the peptide solution is very large. Significant spectral changes during soaking in water and solutions of model peptides has also been observed for APY monolayers. All studied mixed monolayers practically prevent the direct adsorption of peptides on the metal surface for at least 30 min.