Dense polythene films covalently anchored to silicon

At a hydrogenated silicon surface, the thermal decomposition of methoxymethyl magnesium chloride at a temperature above -20 °C leads to the growth of a thin polythene layer, covalently anchored to the Si surface through direct Si-C bonds. The low temperature favours ordering of the layer, which appears semi-crystalline even at thicknesses as small as a few nanometers. These results suggest new paths for the formation of dense organic layers on the silicon surface.