Modification of silicon surface with redox molecules derived from ferrocene

Abstract

This study presents a new method to bind active redox molecules derived of ferrocene to the surface of single crystal silicon. The procedure consists in the reaction of hydrogenated silicon with allyl bromide activated with white light and its subsequent reaction with monolithio ferrocene in order to create a covalent union between the redox molecule and the semiconductor surface. The layers formed are electrochemically active and present a quasireversible electrochemical process which is attributed to the ferrocene molecules which are bound to the silicon surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis confirms the presence of ferrocene molecules on the silicon surface. © 2010 Sociedade Brasileira de Química.