A Novel Application of Alkanethiol Self-Assembled Monolayers in Nanofabrication: Direct Molding and Replication of Patterned Conducting Masters

The fabrication of nanostructures is one of the most relevant topics in modern technologies. Here, we present a new strategy that allows direct molding and replication of conducting patterns with sizes ranging from nanometers to millimeters. The method consists of metal electrodeposition on conducting substrates covered with an alkanethiol monolayer. This allows master molding and replication avoiding contact printing, masking, or photopatterning steps. The method is fast and inexpensive and requires only basic instrumentation available at any laboratory. The potential applications of this method are related to serial fabrication of nano/microstructured metallic architectures.