The design of redox-active molecules that afford multistate operation and high charge density is essential formolecular information storage applications. Triple-decker sandwich compounds composed of two lanthanide metalions and three porphyrinic ligands exhibit a large number of oxidation states within a relatively narrow electrochemicalwindow. High charge density requires a small footprint upon tethering triple deckers to an electroactive surface. Alltriple deckers examined to date for information storage have been tethered via the terminal ligand and have exhibitedlarge footprints (~670 Å
2). Five new homonuclear (Eu or Ce) triple deckers have been prepared (via statistical orrational methods) to examine the effect of tether attachment site on molecular footprint. Three triple deckers aretethered via the terminal ligand (porphyrin) or central ligand (porphyrin or imidazophthalocyanine), whereas twotriple deckers each bear two tethers, one at each terminal ligand. The tether is a compact triallyl tripod. Monolayersof the triple deckers on Si(100) were examined by electrochemical and FTIR techniques. Each triple decker exhibitedthe expected four resolved voltammetric waves, owing to formation of the mono-, di-, tri-, and tetracations. Theelectrochemical studies of surface coverage (
, obtained by integrating the voltammetric waves) reveal that coveragesapproaching 10
-10 mol cm
-2, corresponding to a molecular footprint of ~170 Å
2, are readily achieved for all fiveof the triple deckers. The surface coverage observed for the tripodal functionalized triple deckers is approximately4-fold higher than that obtained for monopodal-functionalized triple deckers (carbon, oxygen, or sulfur anchor atoms)attached to either Si(100) or Au(111). The fact that similar, relatively high, surface coverages can be achievedregardless of the location (or number) of the tripodal tether indicates that the tripodal functionalization, rather thanthe location of the tether, is the primary determinant of the packing density.