Definition
Plain language
A single molecule-thick coating that forms by itself when a surface is dipped in the right liquid.
As stated in the literature
Ordered molecular film formed spontaneously by chemisorption of head groups onto a substrate; monolayer stability depends on chain length and packing geometry.
Also called: monolayer, monolayers
Why it matters: It is how researchers build molecule-thin films without any fabrication machinery, but such films are fragile and easy to overstate the stability of.
For example, dipping a gold surface in the right solution leaves it coated with a single, neatly ordered layer of molecules standing on end.