While thioacetate-terminated oligo (phenylene vinylene)s (OPVs) have been synthesized and employed in applications involving the formulation of metal-molecule-metal junctions the synthesis and application of potentially more versatile alpha,omega-dithiol OPVs have not previously been described. Here, a thiomethyl-precursor route to the synthesis of a alpha,omega-dithiol OPVs is reported and their ability to form well-ordered self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) without the addition of exogenous deprotection reagents is described alpha,omega-Dithiol OPV monolayers exhibited thicknesses consistent with molecular length and are nearly defect-free, as assayed by electrochemical measurements. To demonstrate the ease with which SAMs containing these bifunctional OPVs can in contrast to thioacetate functionalized OPVs be further functionalized with materials other than gold, we have modified them in a single step with a sub-monolayer of cadmium selenide nanocrystals (NCs). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) confirm that these NC-modified films are both smooth and uniform over the largest areas investigated (>10 mu m(2)) and no evidence of NC-aggregation is observed. To evaluate the electrochemical response of these metal-molecule-semiconductor assemblies we have fabricated NC-modified OPV SAMs with ferrocene-coated NCs. Variable-frequency alternating current voltammetry indicates that electron transfer in these assemblies is much more rapid than in analogous structures formed using simple alkane dithiols. It thus appears that alpha,omega-dithiol OPVs are well suited for the formation of high-quality conducting SAMs for the functionalization of gold and other surfaces.