Self-assembled monolayers for liquid crystal alignment: simple preparation on glass using alkyltrialkoxysilanes

Abstract

A simple procedure for the preparation of octadecylsiloxane self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on float glass substrates is described. The method utilizes commercial octadecyltriethoxysilane, OTE: n-C₁₈H₃₇Si(OCH₂CH₃)₃, as the SAM precursor, with deposition accomplished in toluene solution using n-butylamine as catalyst. This synthetic approach obviates the use of the problematic trichlorosilanes typically required for the preparation of high quality SAMs, and is characterized by a wide ‘process window,’ utilizing off-the-shelf reagents without special handling.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the Office of Naval Research and by the National Science Foundation (Grant No. DMR-9224168, CDR-8622236 and CHE-0079122, and the Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal Materials Research Center, NSF MRSEC Award No. DMR-9809555). The work was also supported in part by ARO Grants DAAL-03-92-G-0085, DAAL-03-92-G-0223, DAAH-04093-G-0295, AFOSR Grant F49620-92-J-0482 as well as by CATI Grant for Nanostructured Biomaterials for Optoelectronics. The authors would like to thank Dr Greg Bogart of Biostar, Inc., for helpful discussions.