In one aspect of the invention, photoactivatable silane compounds and methods for their synthesis and use are provided. In one embodiment, the photoactivatable silane compounds synthesized are represented by a formula: PG-LS-SN, wherein PG is a photoactivatable group, LS is a linkage and spacer group, and SN is a silane group. The silanes allow the photoactivatable silane compounds to be covalently bound to the surface of a substrate such as silica. The photoactivatable group forms a hydrophobic layer that can be photochemically cross-linked with a layer of hydrophilic functional polymers. In another embodiment, a method is disclosed to synthesize a substrate of hydrophobic layers and hydrophilic functional polymer layers thereafter onto glass surfaces. An array of biopolymers such as nucleic acids and peptides may then be covalently attached to the substrate using photolithography and biopolymer synthesis.