Covalent grafting of silatranes to carbon interfaces

Covalent Si-C grafting of a silatrane cage to a carbon-based interface provides a truly conjugated benzyl-type system in which the 3 c-4 e orbital of the silatrane interacts with the macroscopic π-type substituent (graphite Csp2 network) through hyperconjugation. This process, studied by voltammetry, EIS, FTIR, SEM and DFT modeling, allows one to build carbon-based conducting interfaces with electronically conjugated molecular extensions. Non-conjugated covalent grafting of an alkyl silatrane moiety provides chemically stable functional interfaces that have good promise for electrochemically-driven applications, for example, electrochemical spin-writing.