Surface modification play important role in a host of industrial applications, e.g., sensors, pattern generation, etc. For instance, the above QCM data clearly exhibit how adsorption of Polystyrene on gold is influenced by thiol coverage (Fig. 1 above).

New application was found to produce tailored material for laser direct-write of Ag interconnect

Submicron size Ag particles are pretreated with a dithiol that is known to form self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on Ag. This surface modification serves two purposes. On the one hand, it helps a better suspension of heavier Ag particles in organic solvent, a factor that is very important for formulation of ink that can be used with commercial spraying apparatus; on the other hand, low decomposition temperature of the SAMs helps forming a denser structure on the receiving substrate as transferred by direct-write method.