This paper describes an junior/senior level undergraduate laboratory for analytical or physical chemistry that can be used to demonstrate how self-assembled monolayers (SAM) form and pack onto a surface. The laboratory experiment will also introduce students to electrochemical techniques, instrumentation and surface analysis techniques. The two-part experiment first uses chronocoulometry to determine the surface area of an electrode. The second part uses the area of the electrode in conjunction with a SAM to determine the surface coverage and packing of the SAM. The students learn to operate the potentiostat, clean and prepare gold electrodes, and use common electrochemical techniques.
Alice H. Suroviec (Wed,) studied this question.