Organic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have been around for over forty years. The most widely used form is based on thiols, bound to a metal surface. However, although the thiol SAMs are very versatile, they are also chemically unstable. Exposure of these monolayers to air will lead to oxidation and breakdown within a single day. University of Groningen scientists have now created SAMs using buckyballs functionalized with 'tails' of ethylene glycol. These molecules produce self-assembled monolayers that have all the properties of thiol SAMs but remain chemically unchanged for several weeks when exposed to air. This robustness makes them much easier to use in research and in devices. An article about these new SAMs was published in Nature Materials on 30 January.