High temperature processing and applications of self-assembled layers of short molecules on and between surfaces were thought to be limited owing to desorption and/or degradation of the molecules. Here Gandhi and colleagues demonstrate high levels of adhesion at an interface between copper and silica, through the high temperature processing of a self-assembled molecular nanolayer at the interface beyond the molecular desorption temperature: strengthening this particular interface is of practical importance in microelectronics, but the study also demonstrates the potential of high temperature processing and applications of such nanolayers at interfaces more generally.
- Darshan D. Gandhi
- Michael Lane
- Ganapathiraman Ramanath