Heterogeneous Catalysis through Microcontact Printing

Abstract

Here, we investigate four different chemical pathways (Scheme 1a–d) relevant to the Cu-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction.[13] Three of those pathways lead to surfaces functionalized with organic molecules.[5, 11, 14] At the outset, our practical goal was to identify surface-functionalization protocols that are capable of attaining 1) spatial selectivity, 2) high surface coverage, and 3) rapid reaction kinetics. Our ultimate goal is to achieve a fundamental understanding of how different reaction pathways influence the chemical outcome as it applies to the organic functionalization of surfaces.