the sam &# 39 ; s of the present invention are formed by reacting a metal oxide or silicon oxide substrate having a transition metal alkoxide surface layer with an organic compound capable of reacting with the transition metal alkoxide to form a covalent bond between a ligand of the organic compound and the transition metal . the transition metal is selected from group ivb , group vb or group vib of the periodic chart . the alkoxides of this layer are covalently bonded by the transition metal to the surface oxygens of the substrate . by reacting organic compounds with the transition metal alkoxide layer , organic transition metal ligands are formed as a sam on the substrate surface , covalently bonded at the transition metal to the surface oxygens of the substrate . the conditions under which the organic compounds are reacted with the transition metal alkoxide surface layer of the metal oxide or silicon oxide substrate are not critical , and may be performed at ambient temperature and pressure . for example , a substrate having a transition metal alkoxide coating may be immersed in a solution containing an excess quantity of an organic compound such as a solution of a carboxylic acid or a suitable pi - electron delocalized compound in a non - polar solvent such as iso - octane . a dilute solution concentration of the organic compound should be employed , typically between about 1 . 0 mm and about 100 mm . the substrate will then be removed from the solution , rinsed with the iso - octane solvent , or another non - reactive solvent , and then dried to provide a substrate having an organic sam . preferably , the organic compound is deposited on the transition metal alkoxide layer of the substrate using conventional vapor deposition techniques and equipment . the strength of the vacuum to be applied will depend upon the vapor pressure of the organic compound . compounds with low vapor pressures will require a high vacuum . otherwise , ambient temperatures are employed , and an excess of the organic compound should be used to ensure a complete reaction . preferably , the transition metal alkoxide layer of the substrate should not be exposed to ambient moisture prior to being reacted . the reaction proceeds by the transfer of a proton from the organic compound to the alkoxide of the transition metal , forming the corresponding alkanol and an organic ligand of the transition metal . once the reaction is complete , the vacuum is maintained in order to draw off any excess of the organic compound and the alkanol byproduct . suitable organic compounds include , but are not limited to carboxylic acids and pi - electron delocalized compounds capable of reacting with a transition metal alkoxide to covalently bond a ligand of the compound to the transition metal . essentially any organic carboxylic acid capable of forming a sam on a metal oxide or silicon oxide surface is suitable for use with the present invention . the carboxylic acid may be saturated or unsaturated , branched or unbranched , substituted or unsubstituted , and may be aromatic or non - aromatic . one example of a substituted carboxylic acid is a halogen - substituted carboxylic acid , with the preferred halogen being fluorine . the carboxylic acid may be a monocarboxylic acid , dicarboxylic acid , or an anhydride of a dicarboxylic acid . typical carboxylic acids will contain between 2 and 20 carbon atoms ( exclusive of the carbonyl carbon ), and preferably will contain between 3 and 18 carbon atoms . stearic acid is one of the preferred carboxylic acids . a preferred class of carboxylic acids are unsaturated carboxylic acids , which , after formation of the sam , may be polymerized to form a single self - assembled polymer monolayer . a preferred class of unsaturated carboxylic acids are the vinyl carboxylic acids such as acrylic acids , methacrylic acid , maleic acid , and the like . halogen - substituted acrylates are preferred , particularly chlorine and fluorine , so that the resulting sam can be fully polymerized to obtain a single self - assembled poly ( vinyl chloride ) or fluoropolymer monolayer coating . cinnamic acid could also be employed , so that the resulting sam could be fully polymerized to obtain a self - assembled polystyrene monolayer . essentially any pi - electron delocalized compound capable of reacting with a transition metal alkoxide to covalently bond a ligand of the ring compound to the transition metal is suitable for use with the present invention . particularly useful compounds are pi - electron delocalized aromatic ring compounds . a particularly preferred aromatic ring compound is a phenol , which has a relatively acidic hydrogen that is readily transferred to the transition metal alkoxide to initiate a reaction that results in the formation of a transition metal phenolate . five - membered heteroaromatic ring compounds having proton - donating ring substituents capable of reacting with the transition metal alkoxide are also desirable because of their high degree of pi - electron delocalization . examples of such rings include furan , thiophene and pyrrole . the metal oxide or silicon oxide substrate having a transition metal alkoxide surface layer that is reactive with the organic carboxylic acid to produce the sam of the present invention is obtained by reacting the substrate with a transition metal polyalkoxide . alkoxides of transition metals selected from group ivb , group vb and group vib of the periodic chart are suitable for use with the present invention , with group ivb transition metals being preferred . titanium ( ti ) and zirconium ( zr ) are the preferred group ivb transition metals , with zr being most preferred . depending upon the position of the transition metal on the periodic chart , the transition metal alkoxide will have from two to six alkoxide groups . preferred alkoxide groups have from 2 to 4 carbon atoms , such as ethoxide , propoxide , iso - propoxide , butoxide , iso - butoxide and tert - butoxides . transition metal tetra - alkoxides are preferred , with the most preferred transition metal tetra - alkoxide being zirconium tetra tert - butoxide . with group ivb transition metal tetra - alkoxides , at least one of the alkoxide groups reacts with surface oxygens of the metal oxide or silicon oxide substrate to form covalent bonds between the surface oxygens and the transition metal . the surface oxygens are in the form of hydroxyl groups , so that this reaction also proceeds by proton transfer from the oxide surface to an alkoxide group of a transition metal , again producing an equivalent quantity of the corresponding alkanol . at least one alkoxide group does not react and remains available for reaction with organic compounds to form an organic ligand sam covalently bonded to transition metals . group vb transition metals form penta - alkoxides and oxo - trialkoxides that are suitable for use with the present invention . both types of compounds also react by proton transfer to covalently bond the transition metal to substrate oxygens and produce an equivalent quantity of an alkanol byproduct . at least one alkoxide group does not react and is available for subsequent reaction with an organic compound to form a sam . while group vb transition metals also form dioxo - monoalkoxides , such compounds are not suitable for use with the present invention because , after being reacted with the substrate surface , the are no remaining alkoxide groups available for reaction to form a sam . group vib transition metals form hexa - alkoxides , oxo - tetra - alkoxides and dioxo - dialkoxides that are all suitable for use with the present invention . these compounds also react by proton transfer to covalently bond the transition metal to substrate oxygens , producing an equivalent quantity of an alkanol and leaving at least one unreacted alkoxide group for subsequent reaction to form an sam . advantageously , many of the transition metal alkoxides suitable for use with the present invention are commercially available . this includes the preferred zirconium tetra tert - butoxide , which may be obtained from aldrich chemical . however the transition metal alkoxides may also be prepared by conventional techniques by reacting a halide or oxo - halide of the selected transition metal , depending on the desired number of alkoxide groups , with the corresponding alkoxide of a metal selected from group i or group ii of the periodic chart . the substrate may be reacted with the transition metal alkoxide by immersion in a dilute ( 1 . 0 mm to 100 mm ) solution of the alkoxide in a non - reactive solvent , such as a lower alkane like iso - octane , a lower di - alkyl ether or tetrahydrofuran ( thf ). or , again , the reaction may also be performed by vapor deposition . in both instances , an excess of transition metal alkoxide is employed , and the reaction then performed at ambient temperature . with solvent immersion , when the reaction is complete , the transition metal alkoxide layer obtained is rinsed with a solvent such as a lower alkane like iso - octane , a lower dialkyl ether , thf , and the like , and then dried . with vapor deposition , upon completion of the reaction the vacuum should once again be maintained to remove excess transition metal alkoxide and alkanol byproduct . as noted above , the transition metal alkoxide layer formed on the substrate preferably should not be exposed to ambient moisture before being reacted with an organic compound to form a sam . therefore , a particularly preferred reaction is a two - stage vapor deposition process in which the transition metal alkoxide is first vapor deposited on the substrate . when the reaction is complete , vacuum is applied to remove excess transition metal alkoxide and alkanol by - product , which is then followed by vapor deposition of the organic compound , so that the transition metal alkoxide layer on the substrate is never exposed to ambient moisture . upon completion of the reaction with the organic compound , the vacuum is then applied to withdraw excess organic compound and alkanol byproduct . substrates suitable for use with the present invention include any metal or metalloid capable of forming a native oxide overlayer , and essentially any substrate capable of being provided with an oxide overlayer coating by conventional techniques . the substrate may thus be a metal , alloy or metalloid with an actual native oxide overlayer , or a metal alloy or metalloid having an oxide overlayer physically produced by well - known oxidative conditions such as exposure to air and / or moisture . a non - metal or non - metalloid substrate such as a composite material may also be employed having an oxide of a metal deposited thereon by sputtering or having a silicon oxide overlay produced by applying a sol - gel to the substrate . metal oxides may also be deposited on a metal or metal alloy substrate by sputtering . the metal substrates on which oxide overlayers may be physically produced may be single or mixed metal materials . the preferred single metal substrates include aluminum and iron . indium tin oxide ( ito ) is a non - native mixed metal oxide preferred for electronics end - use applications involving , for example , electrode processes . ito is preferably applied to substrates by conventional techniques , such as sputtering . the preferred metalloid is silicon . as noted above , the method of the present invention may be employed to prepare sam &# 39 ; s of polymerizable unsaturated carboxylic acids such as acrylic acid that may be subsequently polymerized to form a single self - assembled polymeric monolayer coating on the substrate . unexpectedly , when acrylic acid and methacrylic acid are employed , the polymerization proceeds spontaneously upon exposure to air . for less reactive coatings , the polymerization can be performed by exposing the coating to conventional polymerization reagents and conditions . the method of the present invention may also be employed to prepare passivating transition metal oxide coatings having improved substrate adhesion . such transition metal oxide coatings are obtained by reacting the organic ligand sam &# 39 ; s of the present invention with a basic solution capable of hydrolyzing the transition metal ligand , such as a 0 . 001 n to about a 1 . 0 n solution of a caustic material such as naoh , koh , nh 4 oh , and the like . lewis bases capable of hydrolyzing the organic ligands may also be used . the transition metal alkoxide coatings may also be directly converted to transition metal oxide coatings , without first forming an organic ligand sam , by thermolysis of the transition metal alkoxide coatings at temperatures above 300 ° k , preferably between about 400 ° k and about 500 ° k . the following non - limiting examples set forth hereinbelow illustrate certain aspects of the present invention . they are not to be considered limiting as to the scope and nature of the present invention . in the examples which follow , all parts are by weight . all reagents were obtained from aldrich chemical unless otherwise noted . propionic acid ( 99 + percent ), octanoic acid ( 99 . 5 + percent ) and stearic acid ( 99 . 5 + percent ) were used as received . tetra ( tert - butoxy ) zirconium ( tbz ) was distilled at 10 - 1 torr and 80 ° c . the distilled product was stored in a nitrogen dry box , in the dark , and at - 40 ° c . until needed . otherwise , solvents were used as purchased . quartz crystals were obtained from valpey fisher , inc . ( 5 . 5 mhz , 3 / 4 inch diameter , 3 micron fine polish ). aluminum wire used for the deposition of the aluminum substrates was obtained from alfa ( 1 mn diameter , 99 . 999 percent pure ). infrared experiments were performed in a nicolett 730 ft - ir spectrometer . the glancing angle attachment used , a variable angle specular reflectance model 500 , was obtained from spectra tech . the angle between the surface normal and the incident beam was approximately 87 °. the sample was purged with nitrogen for half an hour to reduce the amount of water on the surface . 1 , 000 scans were needed to obtain a reasonable signal to noise ratio . all spectra obtained were ratioed against a spectrum of a clean aluminum oxide surface . the contact angles were measured at room temperature and ambient conditions on a tantec contact angle meter cam - f1 . quartz crystals ( 5 . 5 mhz ) were cleaned before use by soaking first in concentrated , aqueous naoh , then concentrated h 2 so 4 , followed by copious rinsing with distilled water . the crystals were then oven - dried . electrodes were vapor - deposited onto the crystals using an edwards coating system e306a operating at & lt ; 10 - 6 torr . electrodes were prepared as 200 nm aluminum layers deposited directly onto the quartz crystals ; the geometrical electrode overlap area , on the basis of planar measurement was 0 . 27 cm 2 . air was admitted into the chamber after aluminum deposition , and the quartz crystal microbalance ( qcm ) electrodes were further hydroxylated by being exposed to water vapor at 80 ° c . for four hours . hydroxylated qcm electrodes were evacuated for approximately 15 hours and were stored in the dry box prior to use . profilimetry , scanning electron microscopy imaging , and an optical micrograph of the oxidized qcm electrodes all showed qualitatively rough surfaces . the quartz crystal microbalance ( qcm ) was driven by a home - built clapp oscillator and powered by a hewlett packard 6234a dual output power supply . the frequency of the crystal was measured using a hewlett packard 5334b universal counter and a record of the frequencies was tracked using a laboratory computer . a change in the observed frequency indicated a change in the mass of the crystal . to insure that all the frequency changes were attributable to the deposition of the reactants , the frequency of the crystal was monitored before and after exposure to reactants . the reproduction of the documented formation of self - assembled monolayers on aluminum oxide in an iso - octane solution , using stearic acid was accomplished successfully . a 1 mm solution of stearic acid was prepared for deposition on fresh aluminum films . the aluminum substrates were immersed in the solution for 24 hours , then washed with fresh iso - octane . the presence of a stearic acid film was confirmed by ir spectroscopy . the self - assembled monolayer alignments were confirmed by contact angle measurements . washing the substrates after they were immersed in the carboxylic acid solutions aided in the removal of molecules that were not bound to the aluminum , but were merely sitting on the surface . the films formed in solution were not very stable . the stearic acid film , which formed in 24 hours , was removed by anhydrous ethyl ether under mild conditions in the same amount of time . the monolayer - coated aluminum substrate was placed in the ether at room temperature without using any stirring device . removal of a significant portion of the film within 90 minutes was confirmed by ir spectroscopy . after removing the monolayer , it was possible to establish another monolayer on the aluminum surface by repeating the same technique . this could be done repeatedly , but there was a gradual erosion of the aluminum substrate . from the ir information , it was apparent that the interaction between the carboxylic acid and the metal oxide substrate surface was weak , as illustrated by the ability to produce and remove the monolayer under mild conditions . the nature of the interaction is apparently hydrogen bonding between the acid and the hydroxyls on the surface of the metal . apparently , covalent bonds are not formed because , if they were , much more vigorous conditions would be required to remove the carboxylic acid from the surface of the metal oxide . an evacuable reaction chamber equipped with two separate inlet ports was used . a qcm electrode ensemble was assembled within the chamber and connected via ports to a power supply and frequency recorder . distilled tbz ( ca . 300 mg ) was placed in a small vial attached to one port via a high - vacuum stopcock , and octanoic acid ( ca . 300 mg ) was placed in a second small vial attached to the other inlet port via a high - vacuum stopcock . both were degassed by three freeze - pump thaw cycles . the assembly was isolated from the two organic reagents and was evacuated for two hours at ca . 10 - 5 torr . with the vessel opened to the vacuum system , the qcm was exposed to tbz by opening the appropriate stopcock . after reaction with the electrode surface was complete as measured by the qcm , the tbz - containing vial stopcock was closed , and the qcm - containing vessel was evacuated at ca . 10 - 5 torr for approximately one hour . following reaction of the qcm surface with tbz , the octanoic acid - containing vial stopcock was opened and the treated qcm surface was exposed to octanoic acid vapor . after reaction with the electrode surface was complete as measured by the qcm , the qcm - containing vessel was evacuated for ca . three hours . pre - cleaned glass slides ( vwr scientific ) were deposited with aluminum electrodes as described above for qcm crystals . the slides were then reacted with tbz and octanoic acid as described above for qcm crystals . changes in qcm frequency confirmed the sequential deposition of tbz and octanoic acid on the qcm electrode surfaces . a frequency change corresponding to loss of coating weight did not occur when the coated qcm electrode was maintained in the evacuated chamber . ir spectroscopy confirmed the presence of a zirconium octanoate film on the surface of the aluminum oxide - coated slides . self - assembled monolayer alignments were confirmed by contact angle measurements . ir analysis of the zirconium octanoate films showed no significant changes after two months of exposure to ambient conditions . nor was any significant change noted in the ir spectrum of a film washed in anhydrous diethyl ether for 24 hours , as in comparative example 1 or in 10 - 3 m octanoic acid in diethyl ether for ten minutes . a procedure similar to that described in experimental example 1 was performed using a single exposure of a qcm electrode ensemble to octanoic acid , without first exposing the electrode to tbz . the qcm frequency was monitored throughout the sequence . when the vacuum was closed , and the qcm electrode exposed to octanoic acid vapors , the initial changes in frequency indicated that an octanoic acid film had formed on the aluminum oxide surface of the electrode . when the vacuum was re - opened , however , the frequency returned to its original value and negated any significant change . thus , if there was any type of film formed , it was adhered to the metal oxide surface by a weak force . the strength of the re - opened vacuum was able to overcome any interaction that the octanoic acid could establish with the metal oxide surface . the qcm experiments showed convincingly that the octanoic acid was not forming stable films on the aluminum oxide surface . the addition of the tbz to the aluminum oxide surface made a significant difference in the stability of the carboxylic acid films . the tbz was reactive with the aluminum oxide , as shown by the large net frequency change . the reactivity of the octanoic acid was enhanced by the presence of the zirconium interfacial complex . the net changes in frequency when a zirconium interfacial complex was present was much greater than when there was a clean oxide surface , for the same period of time . the use of a zirconium interfacial complex also made a more stable organic film than the films made by the octanoic acid alone . the octanoic acid films made on the tbz precursor were not removed by vacuum , like the films directly formed on clean aluminum substrates . the reaction of tbz with an oxidized aluminum - coated glass slide was performed as in experimental example 1 . the surface bound species was exposed to vapor of methacrylic acid at room temperature . ir analysis of the resulting material was taken in air . bands associated with the tert - butoxy group were absent , and new peaks , at 2929 , 2858 , 1541 and 1457 cm - 1 were recorded , indicative of an alkylcarboxylate overlayer . no olefinic peaks were observed . the overlayer was , therefore , polymerized methacrylate . the reaction of tbz with an oxidized aluminum - coated glass slide was performed as in experimental example 1 . the surface bound species was exposed to vapor of perfluorooctanoic acid at room temperature and 10 - 5 torr . ir analysis of the resulting material was taken in air . bands associated with the tert - butoxy group were absent , and new peaks , at 1640 , 1450 ( carboxylate ), 1245 and 1218 ( perfluoroalkyl ) cm - 1 were recorded , indicative of an alkanecarboxylate overlayer . preparation of zirconium oxide overlayer on aluminum oxide by hydrolysis of a zr alkane carboxylate or zr perfluoroalkane the zr alkane carboxylate and zr perfluoroalkane carboxylate films of examples 2 and 3 on oxidized aluminum were exposed to 0 . 01 n naoh in water . the resulting product was washed with water . scanning electron microscopy elemental analysis showed that zro 2 had formed on the surface . preparation of a zirconium oxide overlayer on aluminum oxide by thermolysis of surface ( tert - butoxy ) zirconium species the reaction of tbz with oxided aluminum was performed at room temperature and under reduced pressure . elemental analysis of the resulting material showed di ( tert - butoxy ) zirconium / oxided aluminum when the aluminum surface was previously heavily exposed to water . elemental analysis of the resulting material showed tri ( tert - butoxy ) zirconium / oxided aluminum when the aluminum surface was previously lightly exposed to water . both classes of surface tbz species underwent thermolysis above 300 ° k . ir analysis in each case showed complete loss of the tert - butoxy groups . elemental analysis showed zro 2 remained on the surface . indium tin oxide ( ito ) coatings were deposited on glass laboratory slides by conventional sputtering techniques . the reaction of tbz with the ito - coated glass slide was performed as in experimental example 1 . ir analysis showed the formation of di ( tert - butoxy ) zirconium / ito . the surface bound tbz of the tbz / ito coating of example 6 was exposed to vapor of octanoic acid as in experimental example 1 . ir analysis showed the formation of zirconium - di ( octanoate )/ ito . the results obtained in the foregoing examples indicate a general method for adsorption enhancement of organic sam &# 39 ; s onto any hydroxylated oxide film of a metal , alloy or metalloid capable of reaction with a transition metal alkoxide . the foregoing description of the preferred embodiments should be taken as illustrating , rather than as limiting , the present invention as defined by the claims . numerous variations and combinations of the features described above can be utilized without departing from the present invention .