Probing (bio)-organic monolayers at the metal/air and metal/liquid interface by sum-frequency generation spectroscopy

In the present work, ordered monolayers of thiols prepared by self-assembly (SAM), and of lipids obtained by the Langmuir-Blodgett technique (LB), have been studied by sum frequency generation spectroscopy (SFG) at the metal/air and metal/liquid interface, in different sets of polarizations. This study is focused on the determination of the molecular orientation (i.e. the tilt angle and the twist angle of the axis and of the plane of the molecular groups, respectively) and on the analysis of the interactions occurring within the layers or with outer target molecules.