Synthesis of Heterometallic Zirconium Alkoxide Single-Source Precursors for Bimetallic Oxide Deposition

Single-source precursors are ubiquitous in a number of areas of chemistry and material science due to their ease of use and wide range of potential applications. The development of new single-source precursors is essential in providing entries to new areas of chemistry. In this work, we synthesize nine new structurally related bimetallic metal-zirconium alkoxides, which can be used as single-source precursors to zirconia-based materials. Detailed analysis of the structures of these complexes provides important insights into the main factors influencing their aggregation. Investigation of the thermal decomposition of these species by TGA, PXRD, SEM, and EDS reveals that they can be used to produce bimetal oxides, such as Li2ZrO3, or a mixture of metal oxides, such as CuO and ZrO2. Significantly, these studies show that thermodynamically unstable forms of zirconia, such as the tetragonal phase, can be stabilized by metal doping, providing the promise for targeted deposition of zirconia materials for specific applications.

Automated summary

Single-source precursors are widely used in chemistry and material science. This work synthesized new bimetallic metal-zirconium alkoxides as single-source precursors for zirconia-based materials. The structures of these complexes were analyzed and their aggregation factors were investigated. The thermal decomposition of these species revealed the production of bimetal oxides or a mixture of metal oxides. Metal doping was found to stabilize thermodynamically unstable forms of zirconia.