Interactions of Na+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+ with benzene self-assembled monolayers.

Interactions between cations and organic molecules are found throughout nature, from the functionality and structure of proteins in humans and animals to the exchange of ions in minerals in soil and oil reservoirs with the fluid phases. We have explored the behavior of the s-block elements that are most common in the natural world, namely, Na+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+. Specifically, we investigated how these ions affect the interactions between surfaces covered by self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) terminated with benzene molecules. We used a flat oxidized silicon substrate and an atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip that were both functionalized with 11-phenoxyundecane-1-thiol and measured the adhesion force between them in solutions of each of the four chloride salts. We observed that the adhesion increased in the order of the Hofmeister series: K+ < Na+ ≈ Mg2+ < Ca2+. Supplementary evidence from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) allowed us to conclude that K+ binds in the benzene layers, creating a positive...