Synthesis, crystal structures and thermal behavior of Ni(pda)(hfac)2 and Ni(pda)(thd)2 as potential MOCVD precursors (pda-1,3-diaminopropane, hfac-1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoro-2,4-pentanedionato(-), thd-2,2,6,6-tetrametyl-3, 5-heptanedionato(-))

Ni(pda)(hfac)(2) (1) and Ni(pda)(thd)(2) (2) were synthesized and studied as new potential precursors for Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD). Both crystal structures have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction: compounds are triclinic, space group P (1) over bar, compound (1) has crystal parameters a = 8.5379(4), b = 10.4994(4), c = 11.4186(4) angstrom, alpha = 112.091(1), beta = 98.385(1), gamma = 92.937(1); compound (2) has crystal parameters a = 9.4622(3), b = 11.8986(5), c = 14.1575(6) angstrom, alpha = 71.600(1), beta = 71.279(1), gamma = 88.505(1). These are neutral complexes. Thermal gravimetric analyses (TG/DTA) have shown that both complexes sublime practically without decomposition. Thermodynamic parameters (Delta H-mp, Delta S-mp) and T-mp of the complexes were determined by differential scanning calorimetry. MOCVD test experiments were carried out at lower pressure using Ni(pda)(hfac)(2)(1) and Ni(pda)(thd)(2) (2) as precursors. The films were grown on Ta/Si substrate and investigated by XRD and SEM. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.