Double and Triple Carbon-Carbon Bonds in Covalently Anchored Molecules on Silicon Oriented Surfaces

The quest for a detailed understanding of the mechanism associated with a reaction of molecular surface functionalization is still in its infancy, mainly because of the difficulties associated with a heterogeneous phase. However, a promising case is represented by the photo-excited anchoring of molecules carrying a terminal carbon-carbon unsaturation on silicon-oriented surfaces, which has lent itself to a number of experimental and theoretical investigations. A mechanism based on an initiation and a propagation step of such a reaction has been proposed, and faced with a variety of approaches. While there is not yet a general consensus about the mechanism itself, this report tries to collect the facts and ideas emerging from the relevant literature, with an eye to very recent advancements.