The self-assembly process to obtain the alkanethiolate SAMs on Au was carried out similarly to previously reported methods. Solutions of the alkanethiols were prepared in ethanol with a concentration of ∼1 mM in an N 2 atmosphere. Au substrates were immersed and left overnight (∼15h) in the solutions in an N 2 atmosphere, collected the next day, rinsed with ethanol, and dried in a stream of N 2 .